Chapter 180

A road somewhere in western Lusilion.

The place where tens of thousands of monsters had once blanketed the ground like a swarm.

But with the Blue Knight's summoning, the Ghouls and Chimeras had been devastated.

Building rubble covered the ground, while monster flesh and blood pooled in puddles.

A brutal red landscape.

The signs of life had noticeably dwindled.

Yet even in one corner, the sound of air being torn apart continued without pause.

“Haha! At this rate, how are we supposed to settle this?”

“Shut up.”

A heavy impact shook the road.

With her fists clenched, Javert glared at the woman before her.

“...Killian.”

“Why don't you call me Big Sis Leysha, like you used to? Our Javert.”

The Shape Trickster, Leysha.

One of the Cult's highest-ranking executives and the one responsible for throwing Javert's life into the abyss.

-I came to kill you.

-You stupid brat. You were fooled from beginning to end.

She was the enemy who had deceived Javert, then murdered her adoptive mother.

Javert's green eyes burned with more killing intent than ever.

Killian kept provoking her without a care.

“You've grown so much since I last saw you. I never thought you'd become someone so beautiful and strong.”

“...”

Javert had to grit her teeth to keep her composure.

As if enjoying that reaction, Killian smiled sweetly.

Javert refused to be drawn in and only clenched her fist again.

Then she kicked off the ground.

“Hup...!”

-Droit Style Martial Arts Fifth Form-

‘Incineration’

A brilliant flash engulfed Killian.

Before she could even react, the woman burned away and turned to ash.

“I heard you've been looking for me. For the past ten years.”

But Killian calmly reappeared behind her.

It had already happened thirty-five times.

Javert had killed Killian thirty-five times.

As if answering that determination, Killian had come back to life thirty-five times as well.

“Why? Did you want revenge?”

Boom!

Javert's fist struck again.

Killian's face was crushed, and she collapsed as if she had died instantly.

“I never thought we'd meet in a place like this. Fate really is strange, isn't it?”

A new Killian sat on the roof of a nearby building.

Javert clicked her tongue and gathered her divine power.

The investigator calmly assessed the situation.

Her feet were firmly tied down here, and she couldn't join the main force.

‘I can't get a read on it.’

She couldn't figure out what ability it was, how it worked, or what its activation conditions were.

Even among the Cult's executives, Killian was an especially mysterious figure.

Other than personally coming after Javert ten years ago, there were almost no records of Killian appearing in public.

That was also why Javert had never managed to catch Killian during her time as an investigator.

‘She isn't difficult, but she's troublesome.’

Killian's strength couldn't compare to Javert's.

Speed, power, technique. Killian was inferior in every way.

Javert was clearly stronger than Killian.

Still, being stronger did not always lead to victory.

Killian might not be able to win, but she continued to waste Javert's time.

“Your punches hit a lot harder now, too. Big Sis might be getting a little wet. Our Javert is just too tough.”

Thud!

Killian's body shattered. She faded into black ash, then reappeared near Javert.

“I told you it was useless.”

Killian's intentions were obvious.

She was stalling, trying to keep Javert tied down here.

“Play with your big sister. Like old times. Don't go anywhere else. Be good, okay?”

“Move.”

Crack!

Killian's limbs came apart as she was flung away.

Javert let out a breath and felt a flicker of impatience.

‘I need to go provide support...’

Her eyes wavered slightly.

A presence dense enough to fill the entire sky island of Lusilion.

Without needing any special instinct, Javert could sense what was happening at the plaza.

‘Something woke up. Then Student Viktor's plan must have failed...’

The pressure was so intense that her shoulders stiffened.

Cold sweat ran down her spine.

She didn't know exactly what had happened, but she knew something had gone terribly wrong.

“Move.”

Javert had to go.

Even with her enemy before her, that thought came first.

She had not forgotten her anger or sorrow, but one corner of her heart held something more important.

“Haven't you heard a word I've been saying? You can't leave here. If you get involved for no reason, it'll complicate things for us.”

“Then I'll kill you.”

“Pfft... Go ahead and try, if you can.”

“Even if I have to kill you thousands of times, I have somewhere I must reach by going through you.”

Just as she clenched her fist once more, a pure white flash suddenly painted the ceiling of Lusilion.

Fwaaaash-!!!

The light was bright enough to blot out the dawn.

It was so blinding that neither of them could open their eyes for a while.

“...?!”

Both of them stiffened at the same time.

Holy energy swept through Lusilion's interior.

Soon, the barrier that had covered the sky island cracked with a sharp sound.

“What? What is this...!”

Killian looked up at the sky in apparent panic.

The blue barrier cracked open, revealing the sky in its original color.

Crash!

In the end, the barrier broke into countless pieces.

Killian froze, then muttered in disbelief.

“That can't be. Don't tell me the Blue Knight was destroyed...?”

Killian no longer looked calm.

Javert's face had gone pale as well.

Throb-.

Javert had no choice but to stop.

Aching emotions flooded through her.

They were not her own.

They belonged to someone precious who was connected to her.

“...This...”

The contract between the woman and the boy.

Through it, the emotions Viktor felt at that moment flowed into her.

Pain, sadness, fear, exhaustion, relief...

A tangled mess of emotions made her heart ache.

Unable to even think of moving, Javert stared blankly toward the plaza where the flash had erupted.

“Student Viktor...?”

That name rang out hollowly.

* * *

An explosion.

Pure white.

White.

Light.

A storm.

Impact.

And...

‘...And what was it again?’

I couldn't remember very well.

What had I been doing?

Why couldn't I move my body properly...?

Ding-!

[You have cleared a linked quest!]

-Title: Apocalypse, Death.

-Details: Prevent Lusilion's fall. Defeat the Apostle of the Evil God, ‘the Blue Knight’.

[You have achieved an impossible accomplishment!]

[You have defeated an enemy that could not be defeated!]

[A special reward has been provided. Please check your inventory.]

Ah.

Right.

‘I definitely... took the Blue Knight's attack...’

The status window flickered dizzyingly before my eyes.

Since the quest was complete, the Blue Knight had definitely been defeated.

Well, there was no way it could have survived after being hit by that.

That applied not only to an Apostle of the Evil God, but to an ordinary human too.

“Ugh, huff...”

I was dying.

That was what my instincts told me.

‘I... can't move my body...’

My thoughts kept cutting off too.

If I let my mind drift for even a moment, it felt like I would fall into a sleep I could never wake from.

I was probably lying spread-eagled on the ground.

Beyond my swaying vision, I could see the high sky.

Even as I took ragged breaths, my thoughts drifted aimlessly.

‘It hurts.’

What had happened to my body...?

My right arm had definitely been blown off.

I couldn't feel my lower body either, and my nerves felt dulled all over.

‘Still... I somehow avoided dying instantly...’

Just before the explosion, I had layered territories around myself.

I protected my head and upper body so I could at least avoid instant death.

The shadow-like territories compressed, compressed, and compressed again, barely keeping me breathing.

Thanks to that, I seemed to still be alive by a narrow margin.

Of course, it only delayed things. I was still dying slowly...

“...tor!”

“...How... Viktor...!”

“Someone, heal him right...!”

Broken voices reached me.

Only after some time did I realize they belonged to my companions.

‘Everyone's safe.’

The kids seemed to be crying.

They had gathered in front of me, shouting something with tears in their eyes.

I couldn't hear them well.

My consciousness kept fading.

All I could do was breathe blankly through the ringing in my ears.

“At this rate, he's really going to die...”

“Stay conscious... damn it, someone...”

“No... Viktor, please...”

Huh... Caitlin was crying too.

I should tease her about that later.

‘It's okay.’

I wasn't going to die.

I wasn't the kind of guy who died.

This was just...

...this just hurt a little.

I squeezed every bit of strength from my consciousness and slowly shifted my gaze.

‘Princess...’

The princess cradling my body.

Just as I had expected, you were clutching me and refusing to let go.

Thank goodness.

I couldn't speak, and I couldn't move my hands.

There was no way for me to ask you to touch me.

But I had known from the beginning that you would hold me.

If I was hurt and unconscious, you would be the one closest to me.

‘...That's why I could do it.’

I closed my eyes.

At the same time, I murmured a short activation command in my mind.

‘Activate.’

An item I had taken out of my inventory just before charging at the Blue Knight.

An accessory the twin spirits had once given me.

And the rings the princess and I shared.

One for me, the other on your ring finger.

Ding-!

[Ring of the Grove]

-Category: Accessory

-Rank: A-

-Status: Not Intact

-Description: A ring personally given to you by the twin spirits [Selimin & Selipin], who once protected this area. You can receive the spirits' favor within a limited environment. When used together with the ‘Ring of the Wind (A-)’ received alongside it, you can use a special skill.

A faint glow blossomed.

A refreshing green wind wrapped around us.

Fwoooosh-!

Ding-!

[The ‘Ring of the Grove’ has detected the ‘Ring of the Wind’.]

[The ring's effect activates.]

[The twin spirits grant you a miracle.]

The next moment.

Life bloomed all around me.

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