Chapter 390
Chapter 390: This is an Opportunity. (4)
Raviere rolled forward, narrowly avoiding the attack. A bit of hair from the back was cut, but he wasn’t injured.
When he looked back, there was a woman spinning a dagger with a disappointed expression.
“Oh my, you dodged? Young Master, you said he can’t fight, right?”
Belinda clicked her tongue. She seemed to know nothing about combat techniques, yet her reaction speed was insane.
Raviere spoke with a face full of anger.
“How dare you ambush…”
He couldn’t even finish his sentence as someone else approached, swinging a sword.
‘Yikes!’
Having enemies in front of him and getting distracted—Raviere hurriedly rose into the air.
Dodge!
He barely avoided it, but his clothes got nicked. This time, an arrogant-looking brat was wielding two swords.
“Oh, dodged that one, huh? If that hit you, you’d have been dead in one shot with double the attack power.”
Kaor smacked his lips, expressing regret.
Raviere was fuming as he realized they weren’t even Count Penris’s underlings, and they dared to challenge him.
How foolishly underestimated did they consider him to be, attacking without knowing their own lack of skill?!
“Those punks dare…!”
Swoosh!
While glowering at Kaor, Raviere sensed a strong presence approaching and quickly looked up.
Ghislaine was swinging her sword with red eyes glowing just like last time.
This one he couldn’t avoid. Raviere unleashed all his magic power to the front.
Boom!
“Ugh!”
He barely blocked it, but didn’t entirely negate the shock and was pushed back considerably.
As Ghislaine landed, she pointed her sword at Raviere and laughed.
“See? I told you he can’t fight at all.”
The other two nodded in agreement.
“Looks like it. But his reaction speed is something else?”
“Even so, one hit from my dual swords would take him down. He looks weak, that’s for sure.”
The three closed in on Raviere, obviously planning a coordinated attack.
Raviere glared at Ghislaine and shouted.
“You! Are you so shameful as to ambush together?!”
“Why would that be shameful?”
“What?”
“Is this guy an idiot? Am I supposed to duel you? Just because you’re a master doesn’t mean you have to fight alone!”
“You punk…!”
Ghislaine flicked his sword and continued.
“As the commander of the Northern Army of Ruthania and a noble of the kingdom, I declare: You conspired with the Duke’s faction to rebel, deceived the people as part of a social group, and have unjustly killed countless innocent lives. Therefore, I will arrest you according to the laws of the kingdom. Your crime is not light, so kneel and receive the severe judgment of the law immediately. Is this acceptable?”
“Ol…!”
Hearing Ghislaine’s words, the knights clapped unintentionally.
Well, it turns out a lord can speak like that when they want to. Usually, it’s all about the fists first, which is the problem.
But Raviere didn’t take Ghislaine’s words at face value. He was mocking him.
“You bastard!”
This was the first humiliation Raviere, who sat in a high position within the Salvation Society and lived gracefully, had ever experienced.
Plans they had prepared in the capital were now ruined, and the most crucial secret had been exposed.
No matter how he returned, he would still have to pay for his mistakes. The laws of the church were not that lenient.
All of this was because of that guy.
Boom!
From his body, wings made of black energy burst forth. The remaining hand had a claw of black energy extending out like a fingernail.
He had no intention of using his power clumsily like before. He had to kill Count Penris, even if it meant sacrificing his own life.
Boom!
Raviere exploded all the remaining magic power. His whole body was engulfed in blazing black energy.
The power made everyone else step back in shock.
“Everyone, step back. Clear some space.”
At Ghislaine’s words, the knights quickly moved away. Only Belinda and Kaor remained near Raviere, looking for an opportunity.
Raviere’s fighting technique was significantly lacking compared to his power. It was because he was a priest, not a combat specialist.
So Ghislaine had no intention of fighting with all his might. It would be easier to take him down by working together, and there was no reason not to do that.
With Belinda and Kaor now, they could fulfill their supporting roles well enough. There was no need to overexert themselves and risk getting hurt.
“I’ll go first.”
Whoosh!
Ghislaine blasted forth with an explosion of mana. Raviere immediately released black energy toward the front.
Boom!
Raviere’s attack failed to land properly. Kaor had leaped quickly and swung his sword, causing Raviere to lose his balance trying to dodge.
Raviere’s body shook, and in that moment, he moved backward.
“Tsk!”
Unlike Raviere, who lacked the technique to move freely in the air, Kaor could only click his tongue and land back on the ground.
But dodging Kaor wasn’t the end.
Suddenly appearing, Belinda swung a dagger towards Raviere’s neck.
“Ugh!”
Clang!
At an impeccably timed moment, Raviere had no choice but to raise his hand to block the dagger.
The black energy enveloped his body, so he didn’t take severe damage, but he could feel chunks of magic power dissipating.
Such force was necessary to protect his frail body.
Before Raviere could attempt a counterattack, Belinda’s robe fluttered.
Swish!
Dozens of daggers slithered like snakes, flying toward Raviere’s body.
“You little brat!”
Boom!
Raviere expelled black energy and deflected all the daggers. But capitalizing on that brief window, Ghislaine surged forward.
Ghislaine’s sword was an Aura Blade. He could withstand it with his own power, but if hit, the drain on his magic power would be immense.
Raviere created a shield with his magic power again and retreated.
Boom!
Just as he barely avoided that attack, Kaor tried to strike again.
As soon as he maneuvered to dodge, Belinda attacked, and before he could do anything, Ghislaine came in.
“Ugh… These cowardly bastards…”
If he analyzed one by one, they were all weaker than him. Yet, he was too busy blocking and dodging to catch his breath.
Until now, Raviere had only focused on studying scriptures and performing doctrines. Never before had he regretted neglecting combat techniques as he did today.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
The four moved at a pace no one could interrupt.
Even so, thanks to his strong power and amazing reflexes, Raviere occasionally managed to counterattack successfully.
Boom!
“Cough!”
Kaor was hit in the stomach by the black energy and fell back. Belinda was knocked down from a sudden incoming attack as well.
Fortunately, Raviere hadn’t put enough force behind his attacks, allowing the two to escape severe injury and still get back up.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
In contrast, Ghislaine hadn’t been hit even once. He dodged all attacks and blocked them with his sword.
As a result, Raviere began to feel anxious. Although he was successfully defending against the attacks, he was acutely aware of how quickly his magic power was depleting.
‘This isn’t working.’
If he kept getting dragged along by their coordinated assault, he would eventually tire out and die.
He needed a more overwhelming attack. He wasn’t going to save his strength any longer.
Woooooosh!
As he began to burn through his own life force, Raviere’s hair turned white.
In an instant, he soared even higher, glaring at the three.
“Die, you insignificant insects.”
The purple light emanating from Raviere intensified. Soon, thousands of strands of black energy burst forth from his body.
The countless black lights filled the space, resembling stars in the sky.
And that light was shot directly at the three. Knowing his technique was lacking, Raviere decided to push through with pure strength.
Boom!
The power was so strong it could devastate the surroundings. No one could easily withstand it.
The three braced themselves as they drew up their mana, preparing for the shock. There wasn’t even space to dodge.
But there weren’t just three standing there. Someone had been waiting for Raviere to unleash that attack, following Ghislaine’s orders.
“Fire Shield.”
A burning shield materialized above the three’s heads. It was a powerful shield that consumed half of Vanessa’s magic power.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The black energy clashed with the fire shield, failing to penetrate it and instead getting annihilated. Thousands of strands of energy relentlessly pounded against the shield, but the strong fire shield held steadfast.
It was a shield generated by a 7-circle magician who absorbed some of the Dragon Heart’s power, using half of her magic power. While the amount of black energy was also significant, it was too spread out to break through the shield.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
At last, the shield exhausted its power and vanished, but the black energy had weakened as well, allowing the three to withstand it using their magic.
“What the—!”
Raviere, with a face full of rage, turned his head.
That attack used most of his magic power. Since he couldn’t use it again, it had to succeed, but he had failed.
As he shifted his gaze along the flow of magic power, he saw a woman hovering in the distance, away from the knights.
“A mage?”
He hadn’t expected there to be another one. Before Raviere could collect himself, Vanessa cast a spell.
“Fire Lance.”
Zing—! Zing—! Zing—!
In an instant, dozens of magic circles appeared around her, pouring forth fire spears.
Unlike before, where she had quickly cast them in succession, she was now summoning magic simultaneously.
“W-What the?!”
Raviere was taken aback, having never seen such multi-casting before, and attempted to evade. But Ghislaine was faster, reaching out his hand.
Whoosh!
Magic spears he had yet to use shot toward Raviere.
The fire spears and magic spears filled the space as they flew. Raviere didn’t even dare think of dodging.
Boom!
His remaining magic power poured out like a waterfall, forming a black hemispherical protective shield.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The spears kept battering against Raviere’s shield. The barrier quickly depleted its energy and ultimately vanished.
This was partly because he had already spent most of his magic from the previous attack.
He had barely managed to block it, but he was utterly exhausted.
Having not focused on fighting, he failed to properly allocate his energy, relying just on sheer strength and speed in a desperate attempt to fight.
In that moment, Belinda’s voice rang out beside Raviere.
“If your special move fails, you die, right?”
Slash!
“Gah!”
Ultimately, he was beheaded by the sudden attack from Belinda. He wasn’t dead yet, but black energy continuously spewed from the deep wound on his neck.
Boom!
Raviere barely managed to muster his strength to push Belinda away, but this time it was Kaor who struck his chest.
“Ugh!”
Raviere’s black wings trembled several times before beginning to fade.
He tried to counterattack again, but Vanessa’s magic was quicker.
Flash!
The sky lit up and lightning struck down upon Raviere.
Boom!
“Kuahhhh!”
Though beheaded, struck in the chest, and hit by lightning, Raviere still didn’t die.
With eyes glazed with fury, he tried to summon more power to strike back. His life force was astonishingly strong.
“How dare you! How dare you invoke the power of the gods upon me!”
Even as he drew up his strength with bloodshot eyes, the momentum he once had was long gone.
Ghislaine, witnessing Raviere’s current state, smiled.
“It looks like you’re almost out of power. Let’s bring this to a close.”
Boom!
As Ghislaine activated the core at level three, a crimson aura enveloped his body.
The dark crimson aura surrounding Ghislaine was not much different from Raviere’s; the only difference was he had no wings.
No, Ghislaine’s power was denser and more vibrant than Raviere’s magic power. That’s why Ghislaine was also called a demon on the battlefield, just like Raviere.
Whoosh!
Seeing Ghislaine, with his glowing red eyes, rushes at him, Raviere froze up.
He should block or dodge, but he couldn’t even think of that. It wasn’t out of fear; he was just incredibly astonished.
‘Th-that power!’
Raviere looked at Ghislaine with trembling eyes.
The energy encasing Ghislaine was similar to his own magic power. Suddenly, the explosive mana felt very much like the Mana Circulation Method they were researching.
Those two powers were being used effortlessly together by Ghislaine.
‘N-no way…’
Everything that had effects similar to the powers they wielded, they had searched the continent for and studied thoroughly.
But the power Ghislaine used was something entirely different. It resembled what they utilized even more closely.
He hadn’t recognized it at first, but once the power exploded to that extent, it became clearer.
In that moment, Raviere’s mind was filled with the consciousness of a researcher.
“Wait, just a moment!”
He reached out his hand in a panic, but Ghislaine easily ignored him.
Falling for the enemy’s ploys in battle is what amateurs do. Once you decide to kill, only that must be your focus—that was Ghislaine’s combat philosophy.
“It’s over.”
Swish!
Ghislaine drew out his Aura Blade and swiftly slashed Raviere’s neck.
Having already exhausted his strength, Raviere was utterly defenseless against that attack.
Even after his head was severed, his face was still filled with disbelief.
“You… how…?”
Only half-formed questions remained as Raviere’s final words.
