37. When the sword is wrapped in halo (2)

Christine and the search party were running through the wilderness.

For some reason, the group of monsters that attacked and attacked them did not appear even once when they rushed to the scene. Christine was even more anxious about that fact. My heart was racing wildly. It felt like something irreversible would happen if I didn’t run with all my might right now.

Kieh-!

In the meantime, the monster’s cries continued to resonate in the wilderness. The screams that had threatened their prey had now turned into writhing howls of pain.

“…Doesn’t it seem that the crying sound has strangely changed?”

The soldier in no man’s land asked while running. Paola nodded.

“It feels like you are in pain.”

“…Could it be the other monsters?”

Paola shook her head.

“No, absolutely not. How many monsters do you think can inflict painful wounds on a huge rock-burrowing Death Worm? At least, none of the monsters I’ve been sent here to deal with. Even if they were carried away in a cart, they wouldn’t pose a threat to the Deathwyrm.”

“That means…”

Paola sharpened her eyes.

“…I can’t say for sure yet. So, you should run faster.”

Paola sped up.

“Vice-captain, we may need to prepare for an engagement.”

Although head of the search party, Paola was nominally inferior to Christine. Christine nodded. She was already gathering light in her hand. Paola confirmed Christine’s intention and raised her mace. The bloody silver mace shone as it reflected the sun.

“Generals, prepare for battle.”

The knights drew their own weapons. The sound of metal colliding with metal echoes through the wilderness.

“We prioritize saving lives, not killing monsters. And what should take precedence over that, is your life.”

Paola seemed accustomed to leading people. Even though he didn’t claim authority, there was a certain authority in his voice.

“let’s go.”

After passing high and low hills, the search party reached a point where the slope was gentle. Christine looked down at her feet. There were cracks in the dry hardened ground. Pebbles crashed at his feet.

“The ground shakes…”

Christine muttered.

“Yeah.”

Briefly, Paola replied. Once again, the monster’s cry is heard.

Kii Ik-!

When the cry of death was heard, the search party was able to see a huge death worm reflected in the edge of their field of vision.

“crazy…”

The appearance of the Death Worm lying down and rolling around was like a small hill running amok. The wilderness shook like an earthquake. The dust rose like a tidal wave. The dust, like a wave rising in a windless wilderness, gradually increases in size and spreads in all directions.

Christine narrowed her eyes and watched the scene unfold through the dust.

At first glance, it looked like Death Worm was fighting alone. The ground beneath them was hollowed out and cracked, and large boulders were bouncing high into the sky.

but above it.

Christine’s eyes gradually widened as she began to feel the energy little by little. As she wiped her chest with tears of relief, she began to feel anxious again that Maxim was fighting. The members are agitated.

“Who do you think is riding on top?”

“Are you fighting?”

“Who is it? Are you the captain? Whoever it was was still alive.”

Paola made an impression. He seemed to recognize who was riding on the Deathwyrm’s back.

“Maksim. I don’t know why he’s riding on top of me.”

Christine’s eyes trembled.

“Captain… where is the captain?”

“Since Maxim is alive, the captain is probably alive too. Don’t worry.”

“No, that’s not it.”

Christine shook her head.

“Why is the captain fighting?”

“…That’s right.”

Read at noblemtl. com

No, that wasn’t a question. Christine bit her lip.

If you go that way…

The energy was uneasy. please, senior You said not to overdo it.

A clear cluster of light gathered through the dust that was stirred up by the death worm’s struggle. Christine’s steps become urgent.

no.

“What is that light?”

“It looks like an aura, but it’s not the captain’s aura…”

no.

The dust settled. No, it was as if I was being sucked into the scribe that the light emitted. Paola let out a small exclamation and watched Maxim form an aura.

“It is golden. It won’t be common.”

Aura springs from the root. The particles revolving around it twinkle as they wrap around the core like a star. It was like looking at a night sky that wasn’t pitch black.

Christine’s eyes tremble. The cluster of lights in his hand grew brighter.

“senior…!”

A light shines in the distance. The spreading halo of light settles down, forming a definite shape on Maxim’s sword body. It was like a straight, shiny tree trunk.

ah,

Christine held out her hand helplessly. Maxim, on top of the Death Worm, gripped his sword and rotated his body greatly. Christine’s hands shake in the air.

A huge full moon rose above the pale fingertips and the bloody battlefield. The full moon illuminates the wilderness. A strong black wind blew. Paola, who was running in the lead, stopped in a startle.

“…Awesome.”

Following Paola’s exclamation, belated reactions from the members followed.

“What is that…”

“There was someone in the Knights who could use an aura like that?”

At the sight, the members were overwhelmed and fixed in their seats. But Christine didn’t stop.

I had to go faster, I had to hurry.

The death worm’s huge corpse is collapsing. His body, cut in half by the full moon, was dragged to the ground. Maxim stood firm on it. Christine ran.

“senior-!”

getting closer That precarious figure was shaking. Christine’s voice was watery. no. please.

Even when Christine approached, Maxim stood firm and did not fall. The sword was still in his hand. The golden aura was disappearing like the setting moon. A rising aura melted into the sky.

You’re still fine, you’re fine The ground on which Maxim fought was a mess. Under the completely collapsed earth, the death worm was cut in half and died. Christine jumped into the ruins without hesitation. Stepping on the death worm’s corpse, he approached Maxim, who seemed to be dead on top of it.

As soon as Christine stepped back, Maxim’s body collapsed. Christine grabbed Maxim’s body as he collapsed in haste. Maxim’s condition was not so good that it was fortunate that he was alive.

The armor on his left arm was all shattered and bleeding, and the armor all over his body was distorted here and there. In particular, the rib part was so badly dug that it was probably broken. The scratches and cuts covered Maxim so much that counting them was meaningless.

But the most serious thing is the internal injury caused by the curse. A healing light dwelled in Christine’s hands. She squeezed out all the mana and infused magic into Maxim’s body.

“senior…”

Blood was dripping from Maxim’s mouth. Christine checked his pulse and breathing. Still, Maxim was breathing. I turned my head so that the blood wouldn’t block Maxim’s prayer. Blood flowed down Maxim’s cheek. Christine felt someone approaching behind her.

Theodora stood there, holding an unfired signal flare in one hand. The limp leg looked badly broken. Theodora’s face was pale. The hand holding the flare was shaking. She held out her hand, which did not raise a signal flare, to Maxim. Slowly, Theodora’s hand approaches.

But to Christine, the fact that Theodora had been hurt was no excuse for her now turning pale and shaking her hands like a lost child.

widely.

Christine shook Theodora’s hand. Anger, resentment, sadness. Christine looked at Theodora with mixed emotions.

“…Don’t touch me.”

Christine’s voice trembled. Theodora staggered back. Christine remembered. Theodora’s cold attitude. The hateful attitude towards Maxim. And the fact that his actions out of hatred almost endangered Maxim.

And at the same time, even the fact that she could not abandon her attachment to Maxim and constantly hovered around him.

Christine bit her lip. A fishy smell filled Christine’s nostrils. And Maxim, now collapsed on the spot. While trying to protect his ex-girlfriend until the end.

“You don’t deserve it.”

Christine stood up, supporting Maxim. Unconscious Maxim was dragging his feet on the floor like a sack. Subsequently, the late arriving search party greeted Theodora. Paola helped lift Maxime, who was carried by Christine.

—

Christine took Maxim and walked away. With each step Christine takes, the collapsed Maxim moves away as well. Theodora was stiff as if a hammer had hit her head. She couldn’t accept everything that had happened in just a few minutes. Christine’s sharp hand hurt. No, only that sense was telling me that Theodora’s situation was real.

Maxim collapsed. He fell down vomiting blood.

He didn’t even fall down fighting monsters.

There was no doubt that the death worm was a threat, but it was not an opponent that could be defeated alone if you used an aura. If Theodora was in good physical condition, she would be an existence that could be sliced with one big technique.

why.

what’s wrong

you fought well There was no direct hit, and after inducing the opponent’s excitement, he finished it perfectly.

Members of the group approached Theodora’s side. My vision was blurred. Normal thinking was impossible. My head was spinning. Theodora tried to walk forward, but her legs wouldn’t listen. Stumbling, Theodora fell forward.

puck.

Theodora knelt down and touched the ground, but tried to move forward.

Maxim fell down.

Only that scene remained in Theodora’s mind and played over and over again. Maxim’s sword dance rising like a full moon, the death worm’s body being cut into two pieces, and Maxim’s empty eyes looking at himself while stepping on the collapsed death worm’s corpse.

“Captain!”

“Captain, are you okay?”

“Someone help me! Do you have a stretcher?”

Theodora crawled, dragging her legs. I wanted to say something. I wanted to call out Maxim’s name. But her throat seemed to choke, making it impossible to say anything. Theodora gasped and let out a breath.

Ugh.

The aura that echoed from Maxim’s sword resonated and lingered in Theodora’s head.

Why, why, why, why, why.

The word that filled Theodora’s head was a question mark. The image of Maxim as he collapsed, the dark, dead blood that flowed from the corner of his mouth.

eyes were spinning. Theodora couldn’t tell whether he was pointing at the ground or the sky. My heart beat without notice. Theodora’s breathing became rough. There were several footsteps approaching the collapsed Theodora.

“….blind!”

“…Hurry! Get a stretcher!”

At the end of the watch being stained white, Theodora collapsed. Before Theodora lost consciousness, Christine’s words were heard.

‘You don’t deserve that.’

Theodora closed her eyes helplessly.

—

It was morning.

Maxim raised his upper arm abruptly and breathed heavily, like a man who had risen from the water.

“Gagging-huh-huh-huh-huh-huh-huh”

I felt a strong burning pain in my stomach. Maxim put his back on the bed again, with no momentum to stand up.

“Turn it off…!”

Maxim squeezed his stomach and let out a painful moan. The pain tormented Maxim for a very long time and excruciatingly. Alone on the bed, Maxim twisted and tore off the top of the bed, awakening from the pain that subsided.

bed.

Maxim breathed heavily and looked to the sides. It looked like a hospital room. A medical unit in no-man’s-land that I’ve visited once. Maxim let out a sigh of relief and straightened himself.

You’re rescued.

Really, I wondered what would happen when I took out the aura blade.

Did Theodora properly fire the flares and hold on?

Maxim speculated that he might have done that in his heart, and raised his upper body again while holding his still uncomfortable body.

“Damn it.”

It still hurt.

Come to think of it, I used it. Come on.

Maxim looked down at his stomach with a feeling of helplessness. I couldn’t see her abdomen because it was covered by the patient’s uniform, but I thought it might be in a rather serious condition. As Maxim hesitantly grabbed the hem of his hospital gown to lift it up, the door to the hospital room opened.

Maxim turned his head.

Through the open door, I could see Christine with tears hanging on her face.