Chapter 181

Prophet Marqion (3)

Shaaaaaa!

Kleio’s ether leaked out freely into the back of Guilard’s hand.. A quill-shaped stigma began to appear on the back of Guilard’s hand.

Drip.

Drip.

Blood began to run down the back of Kleio’s hand, steadily dripping onto the ground. Ignoring it, Guilard raised his hand and proudly stretched it out toward the sky. Kleio could barely open his eyes. Even as he was being suffocated, the Separation of Promise denied the legitimacy of a fake unique skill.

[Transformation Skill: Parasitic Technique

-Hex technique to increase the amount of ether by using the life of others.]

It wasn’t a skill but magic that mimicked its appearance—even knowing that Kleio had no power to stop the insane prophet. Guilard’s circle widened its range even further as he continued to drain Kleio’s ether. The end of this parasitic act will result in the death of its victim.

“What you know isn’t perfect. What I know is.”

Suddenly, as Guilard gazed down upon Kleio, someone began to tear through the sturdy [shield] he created.

Klang!

KIIIIIIIIIII!

A golden sword, as brilliant as light, that could never be confused with anyone else’s.

“Lei!”

Arthur jumped in, cutting through Guilard’s magic.

“Kh!”

The impact that rang out from the spell colliding with his sword was massive, causing Guilard to vomit black blood. Kleio’s body was tossed to the floor. Arthur quickly reacted, throwing his sword forward in a blur at Guilard’s neck.

Klang!

In an instant, Guilard’s circle concentrated around him to deflect Arthur’s sword either. While (attack circle) was less powerful than hitting with a sword, Arthur’s attack still held considerable power.

Shaaaa!

Klang!

Arthur fired off his attack three times in a row as he sprinted to the podium, snatching up Kleio while Guilard was occupied with defending. The wizard murmured as he hung limply from Arthur’s arms. Isiel came in a beat behind Arthur, quick to grab Kleio from his arms.

Now free of Kleio’s weight, Arthur began to gather ether around his sword once more, emitting a tower of light from the blade.

Guoooooo!

Klang!

The sword collided with Guilard’s shield, causing the world to shake. Arthur’s destructive power was enormous, far exceeding the normal capacity of a level 6 swordsman. He slammed his foot down with enough force to crush the podium as he repeatedly swung his sword in the air, whittling away at Guilard’s shield.

“Kahak…”

While vomiting blackish blood, Guilard struggled to cover himself. As the confrontation between them progressed, the people entangled in Guilard’s ether up until now began to return to consciousness one by one.

“What is this…?!”

“Ahhhh!”

“Runaway!”

Everyone snapped as if they had woken from a nightmare but then began to run away instinctually from the fierce confrontation taking place. Masks had fallen, and clothes were in disarray as the nobles fled without dignity. Guilard found himself strengthened by their miserable behavior, his ether squeezing out one last attack as it climbed Arthur’s ankles. The violet either burned like ice as it ran up his leg.

At the same moment, a figure began to sprint against the tide of people running rampant. It was Cel, who had recovered from Guilard’s previous attack. Isiel, noticing the familiar aura, pulled out the bastard sword she had carried along and thrown it to her with her free hand.

“Thank you, Isiel!”

Cel jumped into the night sky, snatching her sword in mid-air.

Klang!

Guilard was delayed in binding Arthur as he was forced to defend against Cel’s attack. Arthur didn’t miss a beat as he wrenched his leg free of Guilard’s ether and cleaved through his left arm. The blood that squirted out was not red, like a human’s, but a purple color mixed with blue-gold dust like that of a demon.

Cel landed on the floor, grabbing Guilard’s other arm as she forced them both down to the ground. Even though a swordswoman overpowered him, Guilard continued to struggle. Suddenly, Arthur’s sword was at his neck.

“Guilard Eclipsi, surrender. You will be brought to the Capital Defense Forces to explain what you are doing.”

Guilard’s arrogance didn’t decline at all as he shouted even more loudly.

“Say something that makes sense! You will not overpower my servants.”

Kuuuuuuuu!

A roaring sound shook the world as the mansion surrounding the garden began to collapse. The servants who had been waiting behind the door jumped through. Dozens of people moved from out the door, many of them still in their aprons with ladles in hand. The platform also couldn’t escape the riot as the floor on which Cel and Arthur were standing collapsed suddenly.

Despite being hit by debris, Cel didn’t let go of Guilard until the end, but a massive arm was raised from the basement to snatch her away. The pile of stones on the altar began to rearrange.

Klang!

Arthur’s sword flashed out, but the demon didn’t fall. The stone giant, now standing with his two feet in the basement, threw Cel at him. Despite using [reinforcement], it was a reckless attack that he couldn’t deflect. Cel and Arthur hit the ground, and as they pushed themselves back up, stone giants arose from all over. There were ten of them in total.

“[Come here and receive my sanctification, servants!].”

Thud.

Thud.

The stone monsters began to take heavy steps toward Guilard. Guilard made the nearest golem kneel first, putting a hand on its forehead before reciting a long mantra. Purple ether began to bloom around the monster’s body.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

The ground began to vibrate once more.

“Ahhhh!”

“Save me!”

“Ahhhh!”

A servant and a noble were trampled under the feet of the giant monsters heading for Guilard. Cel and Arthur were able to slow the demon’s movements, but they couldn’t completely defeat them. Isiel recognized the identity of the demons.

“Golem!”

However, Cel and Arthur weren’t in a position to respond. A faint voice tapped at her ears as Isiel jumped away from a giant’s fist, slamming into the ground.

“Get off…give it….”

“Are you awake?”

“…Yes.”

Kleio, staggering, barely stood with his own two feet. He tore his mask off, tossing it to the ground.

“I’ll put five down, so take care of those who’ve been pierced. Remember the golem’s weakness?”

“I remember.”

Isiel had a good memory. She recalled the contents of Ezra’s lectures clearly; the golem’s weakness resided in its mouth.

“Please.”

Shaaaa!

A dazzling golden ether stretched from the edge of the garden to the center. The 80m diameter circle couldn’t cover the entire park, but the light was brilliant enough that it seemed it would illuminate the whole world. Kleio slipped out the pocket he had tied to his waist strap, producing a piece of bronze. At the same time, a giant spear of light began to form in the air.

“[I am angry with those who will bring countless calamities, sharp bronze spear, strike them down!] 1)”

Five spears fell to the ground, slamming into four giants and nailing them to the ground. The four golems, who were guarding Guilard, screamed silently as their limbs flailed about. In the midst of that, the giant with purple ether in its body grabbed Kleio’s bronze spear with one hand.

Creaaaak.

The golem’s dull movements became agile, and light glinted in its eyes as if it had gained intelligence. The spear turned to dust in the giant’s hand.

Kleio stepped backward, spitting out a handful of blood as he immediately readied [relief] and [heal].

“[The grief may rule the night, but it will bring back the joy!] 2).”

It seemed that the sun had risen anew. A golden light wrapped Arthur, Cel, and Isiel. It restored even the bodies of those trampled by the golem as they were wrapped in golden light. Those who had fallen looked down at their mended limbs with their mouths wide open. Isiel yelled to shake them out of their stupor.

“Get out of here right now!”

The fierce battle taking place would be too dangerous for civilians.

‘I don’t know what it would do, but we can’t let them be consecrated.’

Arthur began to think that he had only one option left.

‘It’ll be bothersome to reveal.’

Tossing away his concern for the future, Arthur activated his Infinite Foreground skill without hesitation. However, Arthur soon realized an unexpected difficulty.

‘Golem’s cannot be designated as a target…damn!’

In a flash, Arthur considered all the feasible possibilities. Eventually, he gave up on using the skill. It was still an insufficient ability to utilize fully, and he didn’t want to test it with human life. As the nobles and servants hurried across the ruins of the collapsed mansion, Isiel guarded their retreat and neutralized the golems on the floor. Her sword moved quickly into the narrowly-opened mouths of the demons, causing their eyes to lose light as they returned to an inert pile of stones. Arthur and Cel, who regained their power from the healing magic, also slay the nearby golems.

“Thanks to Lei, my mobility has improved.”

“Okay, let’s go!”

Even the golems not pinned by spears weren’t safe. Arthur began to throw his [attack circle] low toward the ones running, causing them to fall. Cel and Isiel stuck together as Arthur jammed his blade through the fallen golem’s mouth. In what felt like an instant, seven golems had turned to stone. The remaining two guarding Guilard were easy enough to avoid.

However, the third consecrated golem was a little faster than the aggressive attack of the knight student. Guilard’s cracked voice resonated over the battlefield.

“[My faithful servant, destroy my enemies!].”

1) Translated from 『The Iliad』, Homer, Robert Fagles.

2) 「Song」, Algernon Charles Swinburne.