Volume 3 Chapter 231 The Thorned Empire Of A Thousand Years ④
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
The smell of scorching filled the plain.
The soft morning sunlight was obscured by the pure white smoke that was fanned by the cold wind descending from the pass, flowing from Kian’s back towards the direction of Erynys.
From behind, countless massive meteorites were falling, and the thunderous roar of earth being pierced incessantly reached them. It was Linca who was single-handedly holding back the two figures—the Thorn Demon and Renaud. The plan was for Linca, wielding the Oathbound Misericorde that negates magic reflection (whoosh, whoosh, whoosh) and absorption, to confront the Thorn Demon and shatter it. Meanwhile, Kian was supposed to engage Erynys in combat to buy time.
However, now that Renaud had turned enemy as well, the likelihood of Linca coming to their aid was virtually nonexistent. Moreover, should the barrage of meteorite attacks cease, she would likely not withstand the counterattack from the Demon and Renaud.
Therefore, it was not an option to simply bide time leisurely. Kian had to go in with the resolve to single-handedly defeat Erynys or face defeat.
But, how to defeat Erynys? It’s dubious whether even buying time is feasible against such an opponent, he thought grimly.
Without betraying any inner turmoil, Kian gazed serenely at the blonde girl standing about 30 meters ahead, glaring back at him. She was already holding in her right hand a magic sword, Mistcloud (Kasumigumo), its guard resembling that of a rapier.
The effect of the 6th magic sword, Mistcloud (Kasumigumo), was to grant the ability of duplication.
One could not inflict damage on the user unless all duplicates were enveloped in the attack.
All duplicates were both real and fake.
Their only option was to use the Secret Technique Skyrend to sweep a wide range, but if that was countered with the magic sword Water Moon (Mizuki) that reflects attacks (whoosh, whoosh, whoosh), they could be obliterated instead. Even if they managed to reflect it back again with Secret Technique Mirror Moon, the end result of this hellish game of catch would be Kian’s body unable to withstand the heat and turning into a charred mess. They were in a state where checkmate was visible.
If both the 6th and 7th magic swords were used against them, Kian would not be able to break through.
It was an unshakable law of nature.
────Listen carefully, me.
Recalling the advice he had heard from Mrs. Camilla in his mind.
──”Do not let Erynys freely use the magic sword.
If the 7 magic swords are properly wielded, there is no one, east or west, in the heavens or on earth, who could match Princess Talia. If you let them use it, you’ve already lost.”
There is too great a power disparity between you and Erynys.
Therefore, do not focus on how to fight first, but on how to make the enemy let their guard down.
And before they seriously deploy the magic sword, use the spell inscribed on the prosthetic right hand that shifts the ‘magic sword summoning position’ to create a fatal opening. If there is even the slightest chance for you to win, it will come within that tiny Leap moment. During that Leap──
During that Leap moment, gouge out Erynys’ heart──the ‘spirit stone’ within the heart.
Erynys, when performing the Restoration Curse on Linca and Sarah, crushed two of the three hearts originally present in the flesh doll and consumed the spirit stones.
Without spirit stones, the use of the Restoration Curse becomes restricted, and after drawing magic power from the Spiritual Vein, it can no longer be stored, meaning frequent magic power absorption will be necessary. This restriction also applies to the use of the magic sword.
If there was any chance of winning, it would be after that state was reached.
Until then, once Erynys became serious, they’d already lost.”
Kian had newly acquired the Secret Techniques Skyrend and Mirror Moon, but such enhancements were like a drop in the bucket compared to the overwhelming performance of the 7 magic swords.
”Kian, return to the territory of Count Cain. Stop this foolishness,” Erynys said coolly.
She stepped forward with her right leg, wrapped in white battle clothes, the fabric scraping sharply against the stone beneath her feet.
”By now, you must understand you cannot defeat this one,” she said with a sharp glance. “I shattered the Silver Ice magic armor, and broke the Windsong Blade into pieces. What remains in terms of weaponry? The only significant one is the Misty Magic Sword you’re holding in your left hand, right? In this state, you won’t even be able to stop my feet.”
”I came to persuade you. I want you to stop this further destruction. You can still turn back now. Erase Thorn Demon and Renaud.”
”I cannot listen. The discussion on this has already been exhausted,” Kian answered firmly.
”Erynys. Is this destruction truly what you desire?” Kian asked, pointing at the abandoned village filled with white and black smoke, his left hand gripping the Misty Magic Sword tightly. He slowly shook his head, eyes sweeping the surrounding fields scattered with the remains of burned siege weapons.
”Many people died. You must have sacrificed the residents of Ramsey or the Beastmen from the refugee camp to summon the Demon, right? This outrageous slaughter… for someone who was supposed to be a guardian spirit like you, this shouldn’t be what you do.”
”This one is… not Erynys…” the blonde vampire girl whispered, her voice tinged with pain.
”Then is it Talia? Was Princess Talia the crazy woman who carried out such a massacre to restore the people of Count Cain’s territory?”
”Do not insult Talia!” Erynys shouted back, her red eyes wide open with anger.
The blonde vampire girl took a few harsh breaths through her nose before continuing.
”That girl… was very kind… Such slaughter was probably not what she wished for.”
”Then who are you?” Kian demanded.
”────────”
”‘Glasses,’ I roughly understand your situation,” he said quietly. “You were combined by Black Onyx’s spirit Kharab, the soul of an unnamed swordsman, and Erynys’s soul, and forced into Talia’s body, creating this personality. At first, I didn’t understand the situation I was in, but after you saved me from Oswald, I had to face reality and lost my mind. Yes, now I’m just a little confused.”
”This one is normal! Lost my mind? Confused? Don’t use such words, especially not from a madman like you!” Erynys snapped.
After replying like that, Erynys’s angry eyes suddenly changed to one of suspicion. She continued speaking, a small canine tooth showing from the corner of her mouth.
”This one is normal! Is it weird? Are you confused? That line—I don’t want to be told that by a crazy person like you!”
Erynys responded and turned her eyes angrily, her suspicion evident. She continued, spilling a small canine tooth from the corner of her mouth.
”Such a poor exchange of words. Do you think you are stalling for time? If you think that keeping me here will eventually bring Linca to your aid, that is a grave mistake. The magic from the meteors will be interrupted the moment the Leap Moment occurs, and Linca will be crushed. No matter how high the magic power may be by human standards, if you keep attacking at that speed, the magic power will run out within fifteen minutes.”
”I am fully aware of that,” Kian said steadily.
As he answered, a fierce orange light flickered at the edge of his vision.
The blast—an explosive shockwave—surged in an instant, violently shaking the clothes of Kian and Erynys.
Probably, one of the meteors had missed and hit the ground.
Linca’s Oathbound Misericorde also functions as a magic staff, greatly increasing her chant speed. From the sound of it, she was raining down meteors at a rate of six every three seconds, but such an act of magic must have been something she had never done in her life. She likely could not adjust the power finely, and to withstand the overwhelming fatigue pressing on her body was as difficult as resisting sleep, as Kian understood.
Considering the possibility that Linca might lose consciousness before her magic was depleted, they could not afford to be slow.
However, it was also true that Erynys did not seem shaken in the least.
They must strike quickly, but even if they charged now, it was likely──.
What are you afraid of, me? a sudden, resonant voice echoed in his mind.
(────!)
Kian saw in his vision the shadow of himself, wearing glasses, slipping into view in front of Erynys, who was speaking. The shadow wrapped its arms around Kian’s face, tracing his right cheek with its fingertips. He felt the man’s lips brush against his left earlobe.
”Have you forgotten?” the shadow whispered. “If you and I team up, we are the strongest in the world. No one can match us. Lure them into lowering their guard? Stalling for time? Ha, we don’t need such things.”
Whether that was the voice of the mysterious man they had met in the ancient cavern of Count Cain’s territory, Kian did not know.
However, as Kian heard that hallucination, he felt courage rising within him.
(That’s right. It’s not like me to hesitate when facing a strong opponent.)
This body is that of a sword demon.
A person who, having been defeated once, aims to rise again and defeat their opponent.
A soft, word-dependent way of thinking dulls resolve and sword.
All I need to do is focus solely on defeating the enemy before me──.
”What in the world is making you do this?” Erynys asked, twisting her eyes and layering her words.
”If that is what you desire, I may change the Demon’s direction to Azrael. Will you then obediently follow me?” she added, her voice sharp.
”I told you. I’m here to save the world,” Kian said firmly.
He stared back at Erynys with unwavering eyes.
”I will not let Azrael break down. I won’t allow anyone to be killed any further! I’m here to stop you right here! That’s why I returned to this world.”
”It’s incomprehensible. Have you been fed unnecessary nonsense by Linca?” Erynys sneered.
”No. It’s my will,” Kian replied steadily.
”Are you able to face reality? I am not an opponent to fight lightly with a notion of ‘let’s do a bit of good,’” she said coldly.
”I understand that. However, I believe that with the body I’ve dedicated to sword training since birth, I can manage somehow,” Kian answered.
As Kian said this, Erynys furrowed her brows and let out a thoughtful “hmm.”
”Is it that you hold a faint consciousness of being defeated, since I overwhelmed you with the power of my magic sword? You seem to think that if you can just overcome my magic sword, you can defeat me,” she mused.
”To be honest, yes. Your physical ability is indeed impressive. But when it comes to swordsmanship, I’ve survived many battlefields, and I am superior,” Kian asserted.
”You believe you can surpass me under the same conditions?”
”Yeah!” Kian exclaimed.
”Very well. Until Linca is crushed, I shall enjoy dancing with you. Faced with reality, your ignorance shall surely be corrected a bit,” Erynys said with a vicious smile.
It was a smile that sent chills down the spine.
The woman before him was not the one who had been assisting in their adventures while exchanging banter with Kian.
She was merely a capricious superior being who could easily kill a lower life form on a whim.
Even after having her right arm severed, she still held onto her fondness for glasses, yet Kian felt that with such half-hearted feelings, even a one in ten thousand chance of victory would slip through her fingers.
The woman before him was an enemy to be killed.
And this body is a sword that will pierce the enemy.
Yes, an invocation must be made.
Erynys twirled her rapier with the guard and eventually took an archer’s stance. This was the form of ‘Shot’ from Azrael’s Dance Swordsmanship.
Her golden brows rose sharply, and her red eyes widened in intensity.
A sinister light, unlike that of others, dwelled in their eyes.
”In the previous battle, the outcome was decided before I could taste your swordsmanship,” Erynys said, voice low and challenging. “As a warrior myself, I have a great interest in crossing blades with you.”
”You will fight without using the magic sword?” Kian asked, narrowing his eyes.
”I will use it if I seem to be losing. That is only natural. However, I will not find myself at a disadvantage,” she replied coolly.
”That arrogance will be your downfall,” Kian warned.
The fact that he was being held back wounded Kian’s pride as a swordsman.
Even though it was the outcome he desired, he could not stop the murderous intent from leaking out more than necessary.
Erynys, perhaps sensing such emotions, laughed merrily.
”Let’s see if you can say the same thing in ten seconds,” she said, voice ringing with deadly promise.
* * *
The curtain of battle rises.
The distance between Kian and Erynys was 25 meters.
To ensure that the aftermath of their swordplay did not reach Sarah, who lay in a sea of blood, Kian began to walk slowly to the left.
Holding the Misty Magic Sword horizontally in his left hand, he made sure not to take his eyes off Erynys, who shone with a sacred glow in the morning sun.
The blade of the spirit-killing magic sword was half-transparent.
The edge lost its outline as it seemed to dissolve in the pale sunlight.
This magic sword, capable of stretching and expanding its reach, was also a weapon that killed warriors who fought in close quarters.
Thus, it was a rational decision for Erynys to choose the ‘Shot’ style for mid-range combat.
As long as they fought from a distance, all of Kian’s low-level ‘Shot’ techniques would be nullified by the vampire’s magic absorption ability, meaning that no attacks would pose a threat to Erynys.
Conversely, Kian needed to close the distance quickly and engage in close-quarters combat, but as long as Erynys was poised near Sarah, he could not recklessly charge in and swing his weapon.
Hence this initial move.
From the very beginning, Kian was in a rather difficult situation.
Neither moved or spoke.
As Kian walked to the left, Erynys slowly turned her body to follow.
The blast winds stirred up by Linca’s meteor subsided, and a cold wind began to blow across the plains again.
The direction of the pure white smoke rising from the grassland, scorched by the fifth magic sword Rend Tear (Hizakari) (T/N: Hizakari means “cutting edge” or “slash” in Japanese), changed.
A thick white veil enveloped the landscape.
The smoke carelessly enveloped Erynys’s slender form, poised as if drawing a bow with her rapier.
In an instant—
”—Hah!” Kian shouted.
A faint sound of feet striking the ground echoed in Kian’s ears.
A black shadow leaped out sideways from within the white smoke, defying its flow from left to right—meaning from east to west.
He immediately followed it with his eyes, but by that time, countless blades of energy (ki) had already been unleashed towards him one after another.
They sliced through the air like razor-sharp gusts.
It moved.
Where was Erynys?
No, before that, he had to deal with the ten bright blades of penetration that had been unleashed to envelop him.
Kian jumped to the left, shattering the blades of ki with his Misty Magic Sword.
He dodged by twisting his body, evading the two that were approaching in a gentle arc with a time delay.
At the same time he stepped in with his right foot, he extended the blade of the Misty Magic Sword to its maximum length.
”No!” he growled.
He swung it in a horizontal slash.
The flash, imbued with the vampire’s immense strength and sharpened impact, was powerful.
Simultaneously, he obliterated the blades of ki that had been launched towards the evasion point.
With fierce determination, his right foot stepped in, cracking the ground around it in a spiderweb pattern, and the horizontal slash of the Misty Magic Sword unleashed a fierce wind that rivaled the tempest stirred by Linca’s meteor.
The white smoke suddenly vanished in a rush, revealing the figure of a blonde girl wielding her rapier as if dancing in the air.
”────”
The white of the morning sun became a harsh backlight.
The figure of the girl was painted in stark black.
Kian stared at the silhouette of Erynys with piercing intensity.
A woman living in the heavenly realm──.
Raising energy like wings from her back, she looked down on the tainted people of the earth.
Seamless as the heavens.
Perfect in every way.
Twisting her slender body, Erynys flew with her right knee bent, her solitary shadow exuding an almost divine presence.
In one leap, she was captivated, her expression dazed.
However, in the next instant, she regained her senses, feeling the thin, sharp energy spreading around Kian.
A clear clang rang out, like the steady strike of a swordsmith hammering a blade as steam hissed from the heated metal.
Ahead.
Sparkling in the morning sun, countless shimmering ‘threads’ appeared in translucent light, materializing like deadly threads of fate.
A long-range slashing attack using the warrior monk’s technique: ‘Threads.’
If Kian stayed here, he would be torn to pieces.
”What will you do, Kian?” Erynys asked sharply.
”────!” Kian grunted, gripping the Misty Magic Sword tightly.
He twisted his body and slipped between the ‘threads’ of energy with a backflip, cutting down five that lay in wait ahead. Still, the ‘threads’ reformed quickly, slicing his cheek and ankle. Blood dripped from his left shoulder, but it rapidly regenerated.
His movements resembled the frenzied Tarantella dance—a person bitten by a poisonous spider, dancing madly to stave off death. Kian was forced into acrobatic maneuvers to keep dodging while slicing through the endless onslaught of ‘threads.’
Yet still, he evaded.
Mobilizing the spatial awareness honed from a lifetime as a scout, he made precise, needle-threading movements through the deadly lattice. Kian pursued Erynys, who steadily distanced herself.
Secret Technique, he thought, opening his eyes wide.
Stepping forward with his right foot, filled with the prayer of Acceleration.
The grassy earth split beneath him as spiraling energy wrapped around his legs.
”‘Pursuit of the Shadow’──!” he declared.
One step.
Treading the wind.
Two steps.
Chasing the solitary shadow.
Three steps.
Leaving a trail across the grassland.
Four steps.
I will catch you. For sure.
”Huh!” Kian grunted.
With a sound like a cannon blast, his massive body burst through the green grass, closing the gap toward Erynys’s back. But before he could strike, the girl turned around leisurely and parried the semi-translucent light of the magic sword with the blade of her rapier.
A sharp, metallic ping rang out.
Orange sparks scattered in the morning sun.
The Misty Magic Sword, which could penetrate enemy blades and armor, was blocked by the blade of the sixth magic sword, ‘Mistcloud (Kasumigumo)’—also a spirit weapon. Across the crossed rapiers and sabers, blood-red eyes gleamed brightly. Erynys bared her fangs, barking joyfully.
”So, what do you think of my dance swordsmanship? I stole it from Natra!” she taunted.
”Azrael’s Dance Swordsmanship does not take enemy blades!” Kian retorted.
”Hah, so you’re on the defensive too!” she replied with a sly smile.
Her slender white arm swelled with strength, pushing back with pure upper-body power.
The moment they broke free from their grappling, Erynys thrust toward his left wrist.
He dodged perfectly by momentarily releasing the Misty Magic Sword and spinning on the spot.
He caught the sword again with his left hand before it hit the ground.
With a powerful advance that shook the earth’s axis, Kian unleashed a rapid three-hit combo: a swipe, an upward cut, and a downward slash—all within a second.
Truly divine speed.
Even for a skilled swordsman, Kian’s grip made the half-penetrating blade bend unnaturally, scattering reflected light like fine shards through the air.
Erynys leapt up, crouching as if pulled by the ‘threads,’ then appeared over three meters away, turning into Mist Form.
The golden-and-white girl danced like a spinning bamboo dragonfly.
She countered Kian’s three consecutive energy blades with a massive whoosh from her rapier.
During her next rotation, she threw three pebbles toward Kian, landing right in front of him as he desperately closed the distance.
”Disintegrate!” she shouted.
A tremendous surge of magic power burst from her body—far exceeding the amounts released by Linca and Sarah.
It was a terrifying sight, as if the Spiritual Vein had been severed by a powerful magic sword, causing magic to explode from the ground.
(But if it has no substance, it cannot inflict damage.) Kian thought.
More accurately, he could manage with the vampire technique, which symbolized his darker side.
”…, …, …!” Kian murmured, focusing deeply.
Perhaps in these three months, he had never concentrated so much on practicing Mist Form.
Quickly and precisely, he controlled the mist so it wouldn’t scatter even when buffeted by the blast wind.
Like performing short-range teleportation, he shifted his coordinates to Erynys’s side.
Erynys’s eyes widened slightly.
The three pebbles created an orange sphere ten meters in diameter the instant Kian leapt.
Clad in the coat of ‘Nightshade,’ Kian vanished like a swarm of shadow bats scattering away.
Like real bats, a small, high-pitched chirp echoed amidst the explosion.
The phantom shadow bats flapped their black wings and began regrouping behind Erynys.
Re-materializing, she swung down the Misty Magic Sword.
Erynys stepped diagonally to the right, dodging naturally and simultaneously slashing her rapier horizontally toward Kian’s neck as they passed.
A slashing attack wouldn’t be fatal, as the rapier’s main purpose was thrusting.
But before Erynys’s skill, such distinctions seemed irrelevant.
Because the rapier’s pointed tip was the easiest part to cut flesh with.
Kian couldn’t evade with the momentum, and his Mist Form was too slow.
He was deeply slashed in the carotid artery, blood gushing forth.
Yet he spun on the spot to face Erynys, who had passed by.
This wound would not be fatal.
Thanks to the vampirism advancing from the blood taken from Talia’s flesh doll, Kian’s body had biologically become one of the highest tiers in this world.
Still, the blood loss made him dizzy.
Instinctively, Kian raised his prosthetic arm, shielding his neck.
”Hehehe… ‘Azrael’s Dance Swordsmanship does not receive the enemy’s blade.’ While dodging the attack, it also reaps the enemy’s life, right?” Erynys teased, twirling her rapier as droplets of blood splattered.
She lowered her center of gravity again and aimed the tip of her thrusting sword at him like drawing a bow.
(Indeed, the inability to use the right hand is affecting him.)
The bleeding from his neck stopped.
He removed his prosthetic arm from the wound and positioned the Misty Magic Sword in his left arm at his waist.
The dizziness had disappeared.
(With the left hand, he cannot perform the fine maneuvers of the sword as well as with the right hand.)
However, as long as the magic sword and the martial arts used by Princess Talia herself are not employed, it is still a contest.
Kian gritted his teeth. “…Hah…!”
Once again, energy was released from Erynys’s body.
The speed at which she concentrated her energy was overwhelmingly faster than Kian’s, and the force of the release was palpable.
Probably faster than Sarah, Erynys generated 20 blades of energy.
Beyond the oncoming avalanche of energy blades, the girl with golden hair began to sprint again. Just like before, the chase resumed. This endless back-and-forth would continue until Kian was whittled down by long-range attacks.
(This is bad… If I don’t hurry, Linca will be crushed.)
However, unable to do anything, Kian breaks through, weaving between the blades of will. As the ‘threads’ of the cage surge forward, he breaks through, becoming covered in wounds.
He wonders if he should try sweeping with the Secret Technique ‘Skyrend’──
”But ‘Skyrend’ is one of my trump cards,” he muttered.
”If Erynys realizes that I can use wide-area attacks, I will lose the chance to hunt her, especially since she relies on the 6th magic sword ‘Mistcloud (Kasumigumo)’.”
Even without wielding the 7th magic sword ‘Water Moon (Mizuki)’, the Secret Technique ‘Skyrend’ can only unleash beams in horizontal or vertical slashes, so if Erynys deploys clones in a cross formation, he won’t be able to attack without involving everything.
All that remains is for Erynys to win by continuing to deploy clones until Kian runs out of magic power.
(Even if I run out of magic power, I cannot steal magic power from Linca.)
He dodges the ‘threads’ spread around his waist by leaning back, then immediately straightens up and accelerates.
”If I steal a large amount of magic power from Linca, it will definitely disrupt the meteor magic,” Kian thought. “If that happens, Linca will be blown away by the Demon and Renaud before I can intervene.”
(What should I do…)
Using Pursuit of the Shadow, he closes in on Erynys, but the Erynys he cut was a fake created by ‘shadow.’ He dodges the stones flying back in retaliation with Mist Form and chases after Erynys’s solitary shadow, who is shooting at him while retreating, racing across the wilderness.
Kian and Erynys had already moved from the north side of the abandoned village to the east side.
It was then.
”──What?” Kian asked sharply.
”──! Linca, did you do it?” Erynys questioned, eyes wide.
A deep, rumbling crash echoed in the sky, followed by a tremor that shook the ground beneath their feet. Kian, covered in blood and gripping his sword, and Erynys, holding her rapier loosely mid-stance, both looked north toward the ‘Snow Pass of the Giant’ simultaneously.
At the top of the pass, the massive body of the Thorn Demon was sinking into the trees, raising a cloud of dust.
* * *
Eighty years ago, the Thorn Demon was single-handedly defeated by Aliona.
In other words, even a monster boasting a disaster-level massive body can be dealt with alone.
Especially since Linca is equipped with the ‘Oathbound Misericorde’, which nullifies the magic power absorption that Demons excel at. If anyone can kill a Demon, it would be Linca, not Kian.
The body of the headless dragon deflates, taking on the form of a five-meter dragonewt. The dragonewt produced a dazzling battle axe from somewhere and descended rapidly, flapping its wings, into the trees.
While the Demon recovers, it seems that Renaud, equipped with the magic sword battle axe, will handle Linca. In that form, speed increases, and the unknown magical armor will be used generously, testing Linca’s adaptability.
It is Linca’s greatest weakness—relying solely on straightforward smashing of the enemy due to sheer difference in specs. However, the Thorn Demon was indeed face down on the ground. From a two-on-one situation, even if temporary, Linca had brought it down to one-on-one.
A timid, little citizen.
She seemed fundamentally carefree and unreliable, but after all, she was the second most capable warrior monk in the great country of Azrael.
This result, though miraculous, was not an impossible scenario.
”…Indeed, Linca is capable,” Erynys said, turning leisurely toward Kian, who was breathing heavily.
”She’d be the perfect candidate for your mate. It would be a shame to kill her. However, I have already acquired a replacement,” Erynys smirked.
”…What?” Kian asked, confused.
”Do you not realize that you sense no sign of Natra anywhere?” Erynys said coolly.
”‘Glasses,’” Kian muttered sarcastically.
Erynys chuckled lowly. “Natra will surely bear strong and wise children. She is fitting for the lineage of the King of the Thorned Empire of a Thousand Years, no?”
”I’m not cooperating with you. Not even if I die,” Kian declared, raising the Misty Magic Sword, aiming its tip at her.
Erynys raised an eyebrow. “Is it to save the world? But you are a vengeful killer, are you not? Why do you reject me?”
”I remember that my true desire is to become a worthy human and look down on those who exiled me,” Kian replied firmly.
”You can become a worthy human even after crushing Azrael. Past sins can be washed away with achievements. If you become a king and assist my empire, future historians will surely praise you as a great figure,” Erynys reasoned smoothly.
”As long as there are those in this world who seek salvation from the bottom of their hearts, I will continue to fight for them. I cried out and no one came to my rescue. I cannot forgive a world like that, so I will help everyone,” Kian said, his face covered in scars, eyes shining with resolve despite the dust and sweat.
After pursing her lips, Erynys shook her head slightly. “That is no longer a way for humans to live.”
”I don’t want to hear that from you, ‘enemy of the world’.”
Erynys’s expression twisted for the first time. Her red eyes traced over the abandoned houses of Cockley Clay.
However, she summoned thorny vines from the ground, causing the faces of young vampire children to bloom on the tendrils.
”Liar! Liar!” a voice cried out.
”Lady Talia! Help me! Nooooo!” someone screamed desperately.
”Guardian spirit… why would you do something so cruel?”
”There’s no turning back now,” she said, forcing the words out like a strained breath. The confident beauty now bore a tragic resolve, a shadow of despair clouding her face.
”Kian,” she asked sharply, “if you lost Natra, Linca, and Christina, what would you do? Or if, far in the future, the children they bore died, how would you feel? Could you simply forget?” Her voice was fierce, piercing.
Kian swallowed hard. “…No,” he admitted quietly. “I might run desperately to save them, sacrificing others, just like you.”
”We’re the same. I cannot pretend otherwise. No matter what happens to this world, I want to reclaim the Golden Kingdom that Talia and I loved. Is that wrong?” Her voice was steady, almost pleading.
”At least to me, the savior, it isn’t,” Kian replied, low but determined.
”I see,” Erynys murmured, then sprouted bat-like wings from her back and shot into the sky. Her golden hair whipped violently in the wind. Around her, six magical swords shimmered into existence.
”This ends here,” she declared sharply.
”…!” Kian braced himself.
Erynys swung the sixth sword, ‘Mistcloud,’ horizontally. Instantly, nineteen ghostly copies of her appeared on the ground.
”Sorry, but you’re being forcibly sent to the other world. Cut off your left arm, and you won’t dare oppose me again,” she said coldly, her voice cutting through the air.
Kian felt a cold sweat run down his spine.
”If you’re coming, then come,” he challenged.
Erynys smirked. “Hmph.”
She swung her sword again, and all nineteen copies kicked off the ground in perfect unison.
Half a second earlier, Kian had leapt backward, quietly drawing his longsword from his cloak—a silent whisper of steel.
Notes:
• Linca – Jibril’s favorite girl. High-ranking warrior monk woman from Shin, with strong abilities like ignoring attacks and poisons.
• Camilla – A woman; the subject of the chapter; her body was used to seal Erynys’ soul.
• Count Cain – Talia’s father.
• Mag – The wolfwoman under Yelmar—the one who was caught by Kian’s group earlier.
• Kharab – The enemy who stole Talia’s soul and possessed her body; referred to by the Black Onyx Spirit; defeated by Kian.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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