< 25 : The Corrupted Sword (3) >
Evan stared intently at the shadows that rushed towards him.
To a warrior, the most important organ was the eye.
The eye that saw the attack.
And the eye that predicted the future.
Intuition was nothing more than a prediction based on the eye and experience, with a little adjustment.
Woo-woo-woo-woong-.
Evan’s sword emitted a pure white light, and a warm holy power wrapped around his body.
“O Goddess! Grant me the power to punish your enemies!”
Evan recited the prayer of the paladin and swung his sword at the approaching shadows.
Clang! Clang!
The busy sword repelled the shadows that poured down on him.
Every time Evan’s sword infused with holy power swung, the shadows that touched it retreated a little bit.
But it was only enough to create a brief gap.
It was impossible to completely suppress the endless onslaught of shadows.
Evan’s steps began to be pushed back by the wave of shadows.
“Do you think you can keep running away?”
Left.
And right.
Shadows that popped out from both sides moved towards Evan.
Evan’s eyes, which moved busily, assessed the danger of the attack.
Clang!
He blocked one of them and twisted his body.
Shoo-oo-oo-ook-!
The shadow that aimed at him stretched out and grazed Evan’s shoulder.
The cloth that wrapped around Evan’s shoulder was torn off.
Evan swung his sword at the shadow that passed by and looked at the remaining enemies in front of him.
‘I can’t get close because of the shadows.’
There were too many shadows that Eutenia unleashed.
The moment his body was caught by Eutenia’s shadows, it would be hard to move properly.
Even if he tried to approach, the shadows’ interference was severe.
But he had to get close to inflict effective damage.
Thud.
Evan took a step forward and began to calculate the path to reach his enemy.
‘Even if I make a gap, I’ll only have one chance at best.’
The Inquisitor was a position given only to those who were pure and strong among the paladins.
Even so, Evan had no confidence in fighting against an Apostle for a long time.
The Apostle he faced was an unreasonable being to that extent.
It was a moment when he needed a proper choice.
Evan raised his holy power after judging the value of his movement.
The sword in Evan’s hand emitted a stronger light than before.
“O Goddess! Guide me!”
He took a deep breath and ran towards the front with his sword in his hand.
His eyes, which had been honing his skills continuously, showed him the way to go.
Between the countless shadows that stretched out.
There was a short gap created by the changing trajectories of the shadows.
Evan found the small gap and dove into it, aiming for it.
Clang! Clang!
The blades of light that flashed several times pushed away the shadows and moved forward.
Every time Evan’s sword swung, the shadow’s hand that twisted its orbit hit the ground.
“——.”
The distance between them narrowed in an instant with his quick steps.
Evan gasped and looked at Eutenia.
It was close enough to touch her with his sword.
But Eutenia still didn’t show any sign of reacting.
It seemed like there was no other chance to inflict effective damage than now.
-Huhhuhhuhhuhhuhhu-
With a short breath, his right arm muscles contracted.
It was the moment when Evan’s sword filled with brilliant light slashed towards her front.
“Barrier.”
Kwaang!
With a loud crash, Evan’s sword stopped.
There was no sensation of piercing through something in Evan’s hand that held the sword.
He frowned at the sight of his sword hanging still in midair.
Right in front of Eutenia, who had opened her book.
There was a barrier that created a huge ripple.
“Did I fail…?”
“Are you very disappointed?”
He breathed heavily as his sword was blocked by the barrier.
It was a barrier made with immense magic power.
It was not something he could break through with a few more swings of his sword.
Rather, it would be problematic if he wasted time.
If he couldn’t cut down the Apostle in front of him, he had to at least deal with the black mage next to her and retreat.
He quickly changed his target and turned his head to look at the black mage.
He intended to take care of the black mage instead of Eutenia.
“Be free!”
“…!”
And then he faced the lightning spear that flew towards him fast.
Magic came out of the dagger that the black mage pointed at him.
He was already swinging his sword at the barrier, so it was hard to respond properly.
He clenched his teeth as he saw the lightning strike that aimed at him.
Kwa-aa-aa-ang!
With a blinding shock, Evan’s body flew backwards.
He was pierced by the lightning spear and flew back more than ten meters from where he was hit.
“Ku-huk…!”
Thud!
Evan, who flew far away, hit a tree behind him and stopped.
Dust rose from where Evan collided.
He staggered up from his place and looked ahead.
He had reduced the damage as much as possible by raising his holy power, but he still suffered this much damage.
If he took a few more direct hits, his body wouldn’t be able to endure it.
He spat out blood and glared at the black mage.
“You had… one more trick up your sleeve.”
“This is the Divine grace of the great one!”
He bit his tongue at the shout of the black mage who raised his dagger wrapped in darkness.
It seemed like he used the power of a tool.
But the power of a tool was only temporary.
If I used all the power I had, the only thing left afterwards would be ruin. That was what I thought.
“Divine Grace, you say? Such a tool, in the end…”
“It seems like your time is up.”
“What did you say?”
Eutenia, who had been watching our conversation, closed her book with a dull sound.
The shadows that flowed from under her feet also faded away.
Her ash-colored eyes stared at me.
Her dry gaze, devoid of any humor, scanned me.
“Didn’t I warn you?”
“What are you talking about?”
“There is always a price for the words you spit out.”
Before Eutenia finished her words, I felt a strong flow of magic from the sky.
Crackle. Crackle.
In the empty sky, a huge lightning power was shaping itself.
It was a miracle.
A miracle that transcended cognition, used by a transcendent being, close to the name of divine punishment.
“This is…!”
It was not magic used by the black mage in front of me.
A god from another dimension looking down at me.
A god from beyond the dimension who interfered with the world by creating a miracle.
I held my breath as I looked up at the sky.
Before I knew it, there were countless spears of lightning in the sky.
It was not hard to understand who that miracle was meant to judge.
I couldn’t guarantee my life if I took it properly.
I had to avoid it to survive.
“The price of blasphemy is always one.”
Crackle-!
A thin streak of lightning passed by my side as I looked up at the sky.
A black scorch mark was created on the trajectory of the lightning.
A faint smoke rose from the ground and gently touched my cheek.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
My heart started beating wildly as I faced the favor of a transcendent being.
My breathing was also disrupted by the sudden tension that engulfed my whole body.
“Hoo…”
I raised my holy power and moved my sword with a sense of alertness at its peak.
A being that transcended humanity was watching me.
From beyond the dimension that a mere human could not see, an eye with malice stared at me.
The Apostle in front of me was nothing compared to him.
He was a giant whose end could not be measured.
The only thing allowed to a worthless human was a kick that was like a joke.
“O Goddess…!”
I moved my lips that were bleeding and shouted the name of the Goddess with all my strength.
The Goddess of Honor was the object of reverence that I always prayed to.
There was no meaningful response to my voice that shouted towards the sky.
But I didn’t stop shouting at the sky.
With a mere human body, I couldn’t help myself.
The only thing left for me to find at this moment was faith, which could save me.
“Guide me…!”
Kwang!
Lightning struck from the cloudy sky.
At the same time, darkness fell on my face.
As I lifted my head, there was lightning in its place.
Countless spears of god aiming to pierce me through.
How much holy power would I have to raise to block that many?
It seemed to be beyond the realm allowed to a paladin.
“O Goddess…”
Clank.
The sword in my hand was wrapped in light.
It was proof that my faith in the Goddess was still firm.
It was once a light so bright that it hurt my eyes, but now it was dimmer than the thunderclouds in the sky.
How many could I block?
That was a question that even I, who held the sword and scattered holy power, couldn’t be sure of.
“O Goddess…”
Crackle!
The spears of lightning that had gathered in the sky finally began to pour down on me.
As I saw them pouring down on me, I swung my sword with all my strength.
Kwang!
Lightning collided with the ground and exploded in front of me.
“O, God…”
My ears went deaf as I lifted my sword again.
Kwang! Kwa-aa-aa-ang!
The falling thunder shook the ground.
Every time the lightning bombardment fell, a white flash swallowed up my sight.
One of the spears of lightning that fell pierced me and tore me apart inside.
I flew back and rolled on the ground after being hit by magic.
I staggered up from my place again after being hit directly by magic.
The hilt of my sword trembled roughly in my hand.
“…”
There was no more voice calling for the Goddess.
Instead of my voice, only irregular thunder sounded.
Evan Allemier.
He chose to run away for the first time since he became a paladin.
