Chapter 458 (Side Story): End of the Labyrinth (5)

With Thousand Blossoms’ large-scale teleportation, the situation rapidly changed. They were still outnumbered, but in terms of quality, Kai’s side now held the advantage.

Seeing the players arriving one after another, the High Priest furiously shouted, “What are you all doing! He will arrive soon! Dark priests and knights, remove those intruders at once!”

“Master, should we just wipe them all out?”

“Don’t leave a single one standing.”

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Screams erupted everywhere, clashing violently with Boyd’s calm voice. Even amidst the chaos filled with the sounds of weapons clashing, the place where they stood remained strangely quiet.

“You again...” Dantel muttered, biting his lips hard. His bloodshot eyes stayed locked on Kai, not moving an inch. “Just a little more... and it would have been enough.”

“

Yeah

. I suppose it must be frustrating for you.”

A faint explosion echoed beneath their feet, followed by strong tremors. It was likely the elite strike team of Thousand Blossoms attacking the underground altar.

Kai said, “I’ll give you one last chance out of courtesy. Put away your weapon and surrender.”

“

Tsk

. Ridiculous.”

The Carmelo Family had conspired with an order serving an evil god to summon a demon king. That alone was already a grave crime. There was no chance of leniency, meaning they would be imprisoned in the Empire’s jail for decades of in-game time. In other words, it was practically equivalent to a death sentence for their characters.

“Your sentence could be reduced if you surrender. Don’t you want that?”

“It’s just a game. If we lose and end up in prison, we’ll just quit.”

Drawing his sword, three magical blades floated around Dantel. That was precisely why he was called a Magic Swordsman.

It’s coming.

The moment Kai deflected the magic blade flying at him like a laser, Dantel drew his sword and closed the distance in an instant.

This guy... he uses offbeat timing.

Kai furrowed his brows. From a player's perspective, this was one of the trickiest styles to deal with.

Since he has many means of attack, he completely controls the pace of the battle.

In situations like this, the only choice was to endure patiently until the opponent revealed an opening.

At a distance so close he could feel his opponent’s breath, Dantel said, “Let’s see just how good a so-called legend truly is.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Dantel forcefully shoved Kai back.

Here comes another one.

The second and final magic blades came flying. They were launched with a precise 0.75-second delay between them.

In my current state, deflecting both is impossible.

Goosebumps instantly rose. It meant Dantel had accurately assessed his stats and condition from a single exchange.

Then I’ll block one with my sword and the other with a shield.

Kai quickly reached a conclusion and moved swiftly. He calmly deflected the first magic blade and blocked the follow-up strike with Shield of Light. At that moment, a chill ran down his spine.

There’s another one...?

Suddenly, an invisible magic blade sliced across his back.

“

Kugh!

”

However, mentally lingering over the fact he had been hit was pointless so he forced the thought away and immediately steadied his collapsing body. His legs, brimming with power, slammed into the ground like the roots of a giant tree.

There weren’t just three.

Only three magic blades were visible to the eye. There had to be additional invisible blades on top of that.

How many more are there?

Just when he was thinking Dantel was an incredibly troublesome opponent, Dantel lowered his sword and began circling him in a wide circle.

“You look taken aback. What’s wrong? Never fought an opponent like me before?”

The tip of his blade lightly tapped the ground as a mocking smile spread across his face.

Kai barely tilted his head back and avoided a fatal wound, but a long cut stretched across his cheek. He wiped the blood from his face with the back of his hand, keeping his eyes fixed on Dantel.

There was no special spell or hand sign.

All he did was lightly tap the floor with his sword. That meant his mastery over invisible magic was perfect.

The time between tapping the floor and the blade flying at me was barely 0.3 seconds.

Moreover, he had avoided it this time purely by luck. He couldn’t even sense where the attack had come from.

“

Hmm

, so you’re not going to recklessly charge at me?” Dantel muttered, seeing Kai remain still in his spot. “But that doesn’t change anything.”

Whether he charged forward and died with his body pierced with holes, or stayed still and became a hedgehog pierced to death, the outcome was the same. Dantel leisurely circled around him.

Two taps.

He couldn’t even see where the two blades were. Since opening his eyes made no difference, he saw no reason to keep them open and slowly closed his eyes. Humans relied on their sight for seventy to eighty percent of external information. By boldly abandoning that convenient sense, he forced his other senses to dramatically sharpen.

I don’t even need sound.

He erased the sounds of clashing weapons and screams from his mind, removing one sensation after another until nothing was left at all. It felt like drifting endlessly like an astronaut lost in space, and in that silent space where only he existed, a small voice reached his ears.

—Front. Head and heart.

The voice belonged to the one he trusted completely, the one he couldn’t help but follow.

Kai’s sword moved as fast as lightning.

Clang!

A heavy vibration traveled from his blade into his arm. At that moment, he deflected two invisible blades.

Watching this, Dantel flinched in surprise. It was only natural as no one had ever countered this attack so quickly before.

Is he insane? How did he figure it out with his eyes closed?

When Kai first shut his eyes, Dantel thought he had accepted defeat, but instead, he was deflecting attacks with perfect timing.

Does he have a related skill or something?

He wasn’t sure, but strangely, he felt calmer now. If the one who ruined his plan had been nothing more than a lucky fool, he would have despised himself for being toyed with by such trash.

But that doesn't matter, nothing changes.

Dantel’s blade lightly tapped the floor in a cheerful rhythm.

“Let’s see you block this!”

Kai’s senses spread out, delicate and wide like a giant spiderweb. He began slicing down every insect that touched the edges without hesitation. Each of his movements was guided by Helik’s small, clear voice.

I can’t see it, but I can.

It was a contradictory concept, one he couldn’t explain to anyone, but the undeniable truth was that he was doing it right now.

Whenever I hear Helik’s voice, it feels like I’m sharing her vision.

It felt as if he were looking down at himself from the Celestial Island, like a game character being observed from above.

The image is becoming clearer.

What had first been blurry gradually became sharper as time passed. By the time he had deflected every relentless strike coming his way, Kai began to sense everything within this space perfectly.

It’s not just the blades.

He could even feel Dantel’s startled face and thoughts, the very source from which the attacks were launched.

Just that moment, Kai felt something.

I’m free.

Casting aside the restraints of his five senses, he felt as if he had awakened to a new perception. Perhaps this was the very swordsmanship he had sought since his

MID Online

days.

Well, more than half of this is thanks to Helik.

But even filling in the remaining half was no small feat.

Kai lightly kicked off the ground.

“W-what the—?!”

Before Dantel’s voice could fully form right in front of him, Kai swung his sword. Seven strikes instantly took place, sweeping across Dantel’s entire body like the wind.

“This is impossible...”

Realizing his health had been depleted, Dantel let out a hollow voice. At the same time, his body scattered into shimmering particles of light.

“

Wow!

” Boyd walked closer, clapping his hands together. “No joke, that was impressive. Want to join our guild?”

“No.”

“

Tsk

, they say couples resemble each other... Guess I got rejected by both of you.”

With his sigh, a message appeared to signal the end of the battle.

[The Betix Order’s summoning altar has been destroyed.]

[The summoning ritual of the Demon King Betix has been stopped.]

[You have defeated the high priest of the Betix Order.]

[The terms of the New Covenant with the Solarian God Helik have been upheld.]

[The 10,000 Benevolence stat points loaned to you by the Solarian God Helik have been successfully repaid.]

It was over. Relief sank heavily onto his shoulders, replacing the weight he had carried.

“But hey, you look kind of blurry.”

“What?”

“

Ah

, so this must be that so-called divine summoning.” Boyd nodded. “Go on. We’ll handle everything here and make sure the others keep their mouths shut.”

As soon as he said that, the scenery shifted.

***

As soon as Kai arrived at the Celestial Island, the drowsiness he had been holding back came at once.

What a mess.

As the adrenaline from the consecutive battles faded, it felt as though his entire body was screaming. Regardless of his character’s HP or stats, the player’s mind was bound to grow exhausted.

But I still need to report.

Dragging his weary legs, Kai headed toward the garden, where two girls were sitting on a mat.

“Helik, Rashya.” Kai collapsed onto the mat and continued, “It’s done...”

“We were watching, our hearts pounding the whole time.”

“You did well.”

Thanks to his efforts, they had managed to save both the game and Helik’s divinity.

Kai opened his inventory, pulled out the plan, and explained it to her, “Still, this turned out to be more gain than loss. The leveling up time has been reduced far more than I expected. After a short rest, we can follow this route and push forward with promoting the Solarian Church...”

“Kai.” Helik gently closed the plan he had spread out and shook her head. “Don’t.”

“Pardon...?”

“I’m saying you don’t need to.”

Kai blinked in confusion. He couldn’t understand what she meant.

He stared at Helik for a while until she hesitated and finally said, “I think I made a big mistake...”

“A mistake?”

“

Mhm

.”

After being freed from her long seal, she met Kai and Rashya, but the excitement and thrill hadn’t lasted even a month. In the end, even gods were creatures of adaptation, no different from humans.

“At first, I thought this empty feeling in my heart was because I no longer had believers praying to me.”

That was why she cried so bitterly, and why she had begged Kai to rebuild her church. But that wasn’t it. Seeing Kai struggle this time had made her certain.

“I... simply enjoyed the times I spent playing with you.”

Kai would go on adventures, and she would watch those adventures unfold from here. When the adventure ended, he would return to this island, and they would sit together and talk for hours. Those moments had been so new and joyful, like daily vitamins that filled her days. That was why she cherished them so deeply and why the sense of loss hurt so much more.

“So,

um

... I’d like to change my request.” Helik fiddled with her fingers and muttered, “From now on, even if you’re busy, come visit a little more often... Three whole months without seeing you was too long...”

To her, Kai was someone whose mere presence made her happy.

Hearing Helik’s honest feelings, Kai let out a helpless sigh. “Then this whole plan is meaningless now.”

“

Mhm

. I thought about it carefully, but even if the church were rebuilt like that, I don’t think I would feel anything.”

And that was true since she wouldn’t have contributed a single thing to the revival of that church.

“What meaning would there be in something of mine, if my own efforts weren’t part of it?”

“I see...”

Only then did Kai smile softly. He stroked Helik’s head.

Helik raised her eyes to look up at him, staring intently. “Why are you patting me all of a sudden?”

“Because I’m proud of you.”

The thought that she had come to such a conclusion on her own felt impressive and admirable.

Helik hesitated, wondering if she should refuse his touch, but then slowly closed her eyes. “

H-hmm

. I’ll allow you to do this since you are my apostle, but only occasionally.”

“Of course.”

“Pat a little more to the left, too.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

As Kai continued gently patting her head for a while, Helik began nodding off like a small chick and soon fell asleep.

Rashya, sitting beside them, watched and smiled. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“I felt the same way as Helik. It might sound silly, but having you visit us sometimes and spend time playing together, those moments are more precious than I realized.”

Kai felt his nose faintly sting for no reason. Every time he saw these adorable little goddesses, he couldn’t help but think about how much he wanted to have a daughter like them someday.

One month in game time, huh.

No, since a day had already passed, there were now twenty-nine days remaining. Kai pondered how he should spend this free time, then suddenly chuckled to himself.

Look at me, there’s no need to even think about it.

Hadn’t they just told him the answer? All they wanted was for him to spend time playing with them.

Kai gently smiled and suggested, “How about the three of us go have some fun together tomorrow?”