Chapter 382
Chapter 382: I Can’t Believe You’re Here. (4)
Raviere created a black shield right in front of him and backed away. However, Ghislaine’s sword swing was just a tad quicker.
Swooosh!
“Ugh!”
His chest was slashed open, blood gushing out. His body wasn’t completely split, but the bones were visible due to the severe injury.
With a pained expression, Raviere continued to retreat. Only after he had created enough distance did he shout.
“How can you be so powerful!”
The attack was fueled by the life force of the Holy Knights, along with his own immense strength. Normally, even a seasoned knight should have been reduced to ashes in an instant.
No matter how much of a master one was, there was no escaping such a powerful blow.
Indeed, Ghislaine’s condition was not unscathed, either.
Hisss!
His body was covered in blisters as if burned, and his hair looked as if it had been twisted by flames.
Parts of his torn clothes revealed flesh to the point that bones were visible.
Nonetheless, Ghislaine grinned fiercely, exposing his white teeth.
Seeing Ghislaine’s state, Raviere placed a hand on his own chest and laughed.
“Still smiling? Just boasting, aren’t you? Do you really think you can fight in that condition?”
Ssssss…
As he unleashed black energy, the wounds on his chest began to heal slightly. It was akin to a divine power in effect.
However, he couldn’t fully heal the wound. Ghislaine’s energy remained active and restless within it.
With a click of his tongue, Raviere continued.
“To survive that attack and still have this much energy left… It seems the rumors of you being a master weren’t ungrounded. But can you really fight like this?”
Ghislaine’s body was in a horrendous state.
Even for someone like Ghislaine, who had fought countless battles until now, this was the first time he had sustained such grievous injuries. That showed just how powerful Raviere’s attack was.
“C-Count Penris!”
Bishop Porisco rushed in, startled. He was a cowardly, yet quick-witted individual.
He understood well that if Count Penris died here, his own life would be in jeopardy.
“I-I’ll heal you!”
Porisco poured every ounce of divine power he had. He couldn’t remember the last time he had utilized his divine power so desperately in his life.
Hiss!
But Ghislaine’s body was not healing easily. Sadly, the divine power he possessed was rather mediocre.
After all, he was a bishop who had climbed to his position through politics rather than genuine divine power.
Yet, even a subpar divine power was still divine power. There should have been some healing, but he felt intense resistance emanating from multiple wounds.
It felt as if the goddess was forcefully rejecting the divine power, much like the ‘Eternal Punishment’ that Gillian’s daughter, Rachel, had encountered.
“Why isn’t it healing?”
Hehe…
Raviere laughed heartily at Porisco’s flustered expression.
Unless it was a remarkably powerful divine power, one couldn’t easily heal from his attacks. That was why he didn’t concern himself with Porisco.
Instead, he must overcome this with his own strength. But Count Penris was seriously injured and seemed to lack the strength to do so.
“I need to deal with this quickly before others arrive.”
Such commotion happening in the capital would soon attract reinforcements. Raviere’s hands began to gather black energy.
Watching Raviere, Ghislaine took a deep breath and moved forward again.
Thud.
Seeing Ghislaine limping toward him made Raviere chuckle again.
“Stubborn, aren’t you? How do you think you’re going to fight me with that body?”
Thud thud thud!
Despite talking, he continued to gather power.
After all, as a master, he had endured one attack already. To kill him and leave this place, he would need to exert just a bit more strength.
Thud.
Ghislaine silently approached Raviere, still limping due to his injuries.
“With this kind of strength, what are you so afraid of to be plotting behind the duke’s back?”
At Ghislaine’s question, Raviere smiled.
“It’s just not the right timing yet.”
“What do you mean by ‘timing’?”
“Is there any reason for me to explain this to you?”
Ghislaine paused for a moment and regarded Raviere with penetrating eyes.
While talking, he had started to grasp something.
“Just as I thought, it was you!”
“What are you talking about?”
“The ones who are unleashing strange monsters across the continent to spread despair among the people. Is that what you mean by ‘timing’?”
“…Who the hell are you?”
Raviere’s expression hardened.
This was information that even those tracking them didn’t precisely understand.
Yet, here was a mere lord from the north who knew of one of their grand schemes.
This was not something to let slide. He needed to find out where the information leaked from.
“How did you find out?”
“Well…”
Ghislaine didn’t answer properly and continued to walk forward.
‘So it really was them.’
His insights and instincts didn’t miss any small clues. Even though he only had a hunch, Raviere’s reaction confirmed it.
These guys were the ones behind the Age of Turmoil.
And the fact that the Age of Turmoil was not far off meant that these guys had mostly completed their preparations.
“I have much more to get done now.”
Thud.
Watching Ghislaine limp closer, Raviere fell into deep contemplation.
‘How does he know about us?’
‘Where did the information leak from?’
‘Should I capture him?’
Unless he knew that Ghislaine was a returner, no matter how much he pondered, he wouldn’t find an answer.
Ultimately, Raviere concluded that he had to capture Ghislaine and extract answers through mind control or torture.
Even as a master, given the current state of his body, he believed he could manage to capture him.
‘First, I need to make him completely unable to fight…’
Raviere gazed at the slowly approaching Ghislaine and continued to contemplate.
‘Huh?’
At that moment, he felt something was off.
Hiss!
Dark red steam started to pour out from Ghislaine’s wounds. Despite having serious injuries, he was approaching with a relaxed demeanor that gnawed at Raviere’s mind.
Ghislaine, who had been limping, suddenly began walking straight.
Thud.
Ghislaine took another step.
Thud.
Hiss!
Raviere’s eyes began to widen in shock.
Thud.
With every step, Ghislaine’s wounds vanished, and fresh flesh sprouted forth. Even his burned hair fell off as new hair grew, flowing gracefully.
“W-what…”
Raviere wore an expression of disbelief. How could he recover so quickly after expelling all his energy?!
He’d never heard of Count Penris having such abilities.
Thud, thud, thud.
Ghislaine’s strides grew increasingly rapid.
His body was continuously attempting recovery as he walked.
Thanks to Dark, Ghislaine was overflowing with mana. As long as he didn’t die instantly, healing wasn’t an issue at all.
“W-who the hell are you?!”
Raviere screamed in shock, reaching out his hand.
Boom!
Black lightning erupted from his hand. Simultaneously, an aura blade soared from Ghislaine’s sword once more.
Clash!
Boom!
As Ghislaine swung his sword, the lightning split apart and turned buildings around them into powder.
Raviere jumped back in surprise, preparing for the next attack, but Ghislaine closed the distance in an instant.
“Looks like you still can’t fight.”
What good was having strength if you didn’t know how to use it properly?
Before Raviere could even react, Ghislaine smiled and swung his sword.
Slash!
“Ugh!”
Raviere barely threw out divine power as he twisted his body, but he couldn’t completely avoid the attack.
Retreating rapidly, he grimaced in pain, clutching his wound with one hand. His other arm had been severed at the shoulder.
“Gah…”
Raviere poured divine power into his cut, but it didn’t heal.
For some reason, the energy contained within the wound was more ferocious than before. No, it felt like it was trying to burrow deeper into his body.
To eliminate this energy and heal properly would take a considerable amount of time.
“So this is… your true power?”
Raviere, his face paler than before, muttered to himself.
He possessed strength exceeding that of a seventh-circle mage, allowing him to hold a fairly high position within the church.
Moreover, divine power yielded greater results against enemies, thanks to its unique recovery and defensive capabilities.
But against Count Penris, who could heal himself, those advantages didn’t seem particularly significant.
‘Am I going to have to use more power?’
He took a deep, serious look at Ghislaine in front of him. Using more power here would truly be dangerous.
But if he didn’t, he might die right here. He needed to finish this while his opponent was still relaxed.
Indeed, Ghislaine casually twirled his sword, exuding confidence.
“Do you want to surrender and burn, or would you rather die here?”
“Guh, hehe…”
The glint in Raviere’s eyes shifted as he grinned self-deprecatingly.
Rumblings!
Suddenly, intense purple light began to burst from his eyes. Wings made of black energy erupted from his back and fluttered wildly.
From the remaining nails on his hand, flashes of black energy shot forth, extending into long streaks.
The undulating black energy wrapped around his body as it surged upwards. He looked monstrous, like a demon.
Porisco, witnessing this scene, crumbled back down.
“Ah, a demon! A demon has appeared! Oh, goddess!”
However, Ghislaine showed no signs of shock. It was as if he had expected Raviere to transform like that.
Raviere bared his teeth at Ghislaine.
“I really do not like that smug look of yours.”
Boom!
Raviere launched himself at Ghislaine like a bolt of light. In the blink of an eye, he closed the distance and swung his hand.
Thud!
Ghislaine blocked the attack with his sword, but he was sent reeling backward as if flung away. Before he could regain his stance, Raviere surged forward once more.
This was on a completely different level of strength and speed compared to before.
“You shall die!”
Raviere’s eyes sparkled with joy as he swung his hand. With this overwhelming power, there was no chance he wouldn’t kill this brat!
Whoosh.
Stumbling, Ghislaine spun around, narrowly dodging Raviere’s assault. At the same time, his sword fell upon Raviere’s head.
“Ugh!”
Clang!
Raviere, with incredible reflexes, blocked the attack, but Ghislaine’s moves didn’t stop there.
Clash! Clash! Clash!
In an instant, dozens of sword strikes rained down on Raviere.
Raviere managed to block each attack. However, no matter how hard he countered, he couldn’t land a hit on Ghislaine.
His strikes merely sliced through empty air. Even when he managed to land a hit, Ghislaine’s sword met his at the perfect moment. Frustration began to bubble up within Raviere.
‘What’s going on? Why can’t I land a hit?!’
His strength and speed were superior. He didn’t even need to measure it out; he could feel it in his bones.
Count Penris’s attacks couldn’t touch him. No matter the angle of the attack, his remarkable instincts and physical capabilities detected everything in the flash of a moment.
Even if he missed an attack, his powerful body was more than fortified enough to withstand any blow.
The issue lay with the speed of those movements. The very moment Raviere attempted to retaliate, Count Penris had already vanished from sight.
‘Ugh… so even with this strength, I can’t overwhelm him!’
He had a tendency to underestimate the masters of the continent, believing his strength surpassed theirs.
But now, he realized the weight that came with the title of master.
‘The gap in technique is this vast!’
A master wasn’t merely someone with great strength. They were individuals who continuously trained and rose to that level.
The skills they honed to the extreme couldn’t be compared to mere brute force.
Since Raviere was a cleric for the church assigned to combat duties, naturally, he had never cared much for actual combat.
After all, with the divine power he possessed, he could defeat most foes.
But now he found himself in a predicament where encountering someone who had surpassed his limits did not unfold as he had hoped. Had it not been for his formidable strength, he would have never been able to defend against these attacks.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The two moved so swiftly they became blurs to those around them. Each collision sent powerful shockwaves rippling outward, demolishing nearby buildings.
Yet neither could inflict fatal wounds upon the other.
Raviere had the advantage in strength and speed, but he couldn’t keep up with Ghislaine’s techniques.
Crawling away from the chaos, Porisco trembled as he muttered.
“W-what kind of demon appeared in the capital… The end times are upon us, just as foretold in the scriptures…”
At least it was fortunate that Count Penris was a master. If not, he would have likely died the moment the fighting broke out.
“Yet this demon… I feel like I’ve seen it in the scriptures before…”
Scriptures depicted countless forms of demons. Suddenly, Porisco thought he remembered a passage regarding this demon.
“C-could it be…?”
As he rummaged through his memory, Porisco looked at Ghislaine, who was battling with Raviere, his eyes filled with horror.
“T-the demon that heralds the end…”
Just before Porisco completely recalled that memory, numerous knights and soldiers surged in.
“I-I’m alive! Help us! A demon has appeared!”
The biblical passage evaporated from Porisco’s mind in an instant. He was more focused on his own safety than any demon or anything else.
A few knights supported him, helping the bumbling man retreat.
Immediately, Toleo, the Knight Commander of the House of Marquis Branford, shouted loudly.
“Surround the area! Capture that monster first!”
Boom!
Ghislaine and Raviere collided again, sending both of them skidding away from each other. Toleo seized the opportunity to move in.
As an elite knight of the highest order, he launched a threatening attack.
“Ha!”
A sword enveloped in intense blue mana soared towards Raviere.
Clang!
Raviere hastily raised his arm to deflect the sword. But the other knights didn’t miss that opening and attacked.
“Ugh, you brats!”
Skill-wise, Raviere was no match for even a low-level knight. The knights of the Marquis household were all elite soldiers.
But Raviere offset that entire difference with sheer strength.
Boom!
As he unleashed his power, translucent black barriers formed around him, causing all the elite knights to fly back.
Even Toleo, who was among the highest rank, was momentarily pushed back.
Nevertheless, Ghislaine didn’t waste the brief opening and dove in, swinging his sword.
Boom!
Raviere barely managed to block Ghislaine’s attack, utilizing Ghislaine’s own strength to pull back out of range.
Flap!
In that instant, the black wings on Raviere’s back fluttered. He soared into the air, glaring at Ghislaine.
“Next time, I won’t hold back… I’ll make sure to behead you and offer your head to the altar…”
If he had more time, he could have certainly killed Count Penris. But now, it was truly risky.
It was the first time his existence and power had been exposed for this long. Too many people had seen him.
And no matter how strong Raviere was, he could not contend against both Count Penris and the powerful knights of the capital.
Flap!
Raviere grimaced and soared higher.
Toleo and the knights hurled spears filled with mana, but Raviere effortlessly swatted them away and quickly vanished at high speed.
Until Raviere disappeared, Ghislaine made no movements whatsoever.
He merely focused, conversing briefly with the being within his consciousness.
“Stay close, Dark.”
Ghislaine had no intention of letting Raviere get away.
