“Everything you enjoy was actually the Hero’s property.”
At Salvanel’s words, a slight tremor ran through the tip of D’Élysée’s holy sword.
“I guarantee you. If you offer your body to me, the little believer can finally achieve happiness.”
Salvanel sensed victory in the confusion dwelling in those lime-green eyes. The foundation of combat was maintaining composure against an opponent’s provocation.
Look—as proof of his emotional turmoil, the blue aura was gradually diminishing.
“Wouldn’t sacrificing your life for your brother be truly noble?”
“How could I believe mere empty rhetoric?”
“You don’t have to believe. But please know this one thing.”
Salvanel touched his left chest with his right hand, wearing a lamenting expression.
“The fact that your choice now determines the little believer’s future.”
“…”
“What is it you ultimately want?”
For the first time, D’Élysée hesitated to attack. Though he thought it nonsense, questions of ‘what if’ raised their heads. Salvanel’s words had that much power to shake the deeply rooted desperation within a person.
“This is your last chance, Commander. Won’t you lower your sword and hear more of what I have to say?”
“…”
Ever so slightly, his grip on the thick sword handle loosened. Just as the sharp holy sword tip was slowly pointing downward—
“My friend’s brother!”
A small child’s voice came from behind Salvanel.
A young dog beastkin?
Brown ears resembling a small dog’s flapped with each bound.
“Take me! I know!”
Tarn came running, his fluffy hair flying.
“Where Egru is…!”
Intense light seeped into the lime-green eyes. The next movement followed instantly.
Before Salvanel could manipulate his magical power, D’Élysée swung his aura-filled sword upward. A crescent-shaped sword energy released in a straight line split the space between Salvanel and Tarn.
“Eek!”
Though frightened momentarily, Tarn busily worked his short legs.
Thud.
“Ow!”
But he soon fell, hitting his forehead. On a clean floor without even a single stone.
Tarn’s sprawled body was dragged backward as if grabbed by invisible hands.
“Tarn.”
Salvanel rolled his eyes and pulled his fist that gripped the air.
“Awake already. I was so focused on our pleasant conversation I didn’t notice you coming.”
“Let go! You white bad pers—!”
Before Tarn could finish speaking, the sound of glass shattering in succession rang out. Salvanel looked to the side. Slosh—magical water overflowed. All the glass tubes were shattered as if sliced by a massive blade horizontally.
“Not like you’re going to clean up later…”
Salvanel muttered while backing away. Splash—the next moment, a sharp blade edge barely grazed beneath Salvanel’s chin. D’Élysée had leaped forward in one breath, closing in.
Indeed worthy of being called the Sword Saint, a Sword Master. However, Salvanel, who was chanting defensive spells, couldn’t hide his displeasure.
“Your sword talent isn’t due to your own merit.”
It was because he had constructed his homunculus to near perfection. He had generously used the heart to make him as similar to the Hero as possible. It was infuriating how this mere extension dared to imitate the Hero’s techniques.
“Blub blub!”
D’Élysée pulled Tarn, who was flailing in the water, to safety before creating distance again.
“No! Don’t kill him!”
Sensing Salvanel about to counterattack immediately, Tarn tightly hugged D’Élysée’s waist. It was a plan to become a shield himself and prevent hasty attacks.
“How cruel, Tarn. When I’m the one who saved you.”
The moment Salvanel smiled and gently bit the inside of his mouth, D’Élysée slashed his sword diagonally. Salvanel sighed and spread defensive spells against the relentless series of attacks. But the attack trajectory narrowly missed him.
The massive sword energy containing lightning headed upward past Salvanel.
Rumble—the underground ceiling was skillfully sliced through. From even higher up came successive sounds of massive pillars collapsing.
Violet eyes looked up there.
“Too much to clean up today.”
As these words ended, the collapsed ceiling fell on Salvanel’s head.
***
Chaos erupted in the Capital. In the dead of night, Papal Headquarters personnel began evacuating to the plaza.
CRASH—!
The rear section of the Papal Headquarters collapsed with a thunderous sound. The entire grounds were being devastated by what might be someone’s attack. Crumpled stained glass shattered in succession. Building materials and glass shards rained down with the rainwater.
“Everyone evacuate!”
Gavin, who had shouted at the top of his lungs, regained his staggering balance. The ground shook amid explosion sounds and screams.
Impacts of colliding forces beyond imagination resonated throughout the area. Anyone hearing it might have thought firecrackers were being set off all at once. It was like thousands, no, tens of thousands of loud and grand explosions going off in succession.
Gavin looked up at the cloudy sky while clearing away the hazy dust. Two stars flashed in the starless night sky. He couldn’t identify the owners of the condensed magical power moving faster than dynamic vision could follow. The only certainty was that this was a battle between those who had transcended certain boundaries.
“Have the numbers of casualties and injuries been determined?”
Gavin shouted, while futilely trying to block the violently falling rain with the edge of his hand.
“None so far! Fortunately, the buildings started collapsing from the less populated areas…!”
“Understood, you help with civilian evacuation!”
“Yes, Vice Commander!”
Gavin was commanding the holy knights in D’Élysée’s absence. He focused primarily on evacuating Papal Headquarters personnel and nearby residents.
Where the hell is this bastard sprawled out sleeping?
Gavin wanted to believe that. That D’Élysée was just fallen asleep somewhere far away. He prayed that the blue aura repeatedly bursting in the night sky wasn’t his.
That’s when a dome-shaped barrier began to drape over the Papal Headquarters. It seemed His Holiness the Pope was responding quickly to the surprise attack.
Groooan—
But immediately after, the sound of condensing aura rang out.
All heads soaked in rain looked up at the night sky as if by agreement. The next moment, swordsmanship honed to its limit exploded through the atmosphere. Sharp explosive sounds split the heavens and tore apart the world’s sounds. Evacuating people screamed, covered their ears, and ducked their heads.
Whoosh. Rain fell.
Only the Vice Commander kept looking up at the night sky.
In that momentary instant, Gavin saw it clearly. The sight of vivid blue aura escaping beyond the barrier like a meteor.
***
“He escaped.”
Salvanel sighed briefly.
“To think he’d tear through even the ultimate barrier and disappear.”
The failed experiment had exploded his aura to obscure vision and fled. Taking the adorable traitor Tarn with him.
Salvanel smoothly brushed up his damp long hair.
“It’s been a while since I got rained on. Not a very pleasant feeling.”
For someone who wouldn’t get even a single hair wet walking through the ocean, it meant he had struggled unbelievably hard, not even having time to cast magic to cover himself.
Salvanel chanted a teleportation spell among the collapsed Papal Headquarters ruins. To pursue the lives that needed immediate punishment.
“?”
That’s when Salvanel was greatly startled. He reflexively touched near his collarbone, but the necklace was gone.
“No. This can’t be.”
Salvanel immediately bent down and frantically searched through the building debris. After a while, thank heavens, he found the straight rod necklace again and preciously put it around his neck.
Salvanel organized his overflowing emotions while fondling the rain-soaked necklace. He dropped his arms languidly while exhaling a long breath.
I’ve roughly determined the location through Tarn.
There was no need for him to chase personally anymore.
“I’m so excited about meeting again I won’t be able to sleep.”
Salvanel laughed silently. Perhaps his laughter was masked by the noisy downpour.
His white, long fingers traced down his ribs one by one. He soon picked up a broken sword blade and stabbed his stomach. He applied pressure steadily to push it in as deep as desired.
“cough“
After coughing several times, blood poured from his mouth as well. The pure white cassock was completely dyed red.
Salvanel quickly checked his appearance in the broken window before moving on. As he crossed the Papal Headquarters’s main gate, pain crept onto his previously expressionless face.
“Good heavens! Your Holiness!”
“Oh my! Your Holiness! What has happened!”
The crowd in the plaza couldn’t contain their distress at seeing the Pope’s injuries.
“Your Holiness! Your Holiness!”
Gavin was the first to run over, removing his helmet.
“What, what has happened!”
“Vice Commander…”
Gavin caught the Pope as he finally staggered and collapsed.