NOVEL NEXT Chapter 232
Currently, on the Bride Ship.
Liriez and Borabel headed west, while Rosmas, Droniel, Yan, and Blue Bell set sail east.
And now, in the vast training ground of the Bride Ship, Orange Bell, Green Bell, and I were fighting Lucius with a score of 1:2.
“Haah, haah.”
Lucius kneeled, exhaling harsh breaths.
His vision blurred from deep exhaustion, and his Holy Sword hung limply, no longer able to rise.
“It’s our victory.”
“Were you complacent just because we were clones? What a shame.”
We placed our Holy Swords down.
With several Holy Swords at our disposal, the two Bells were in a position to choose any of the three swords freely.
One of the Holy Swords was used as a power source for the Bride Ship.
We each took one Holy Sword.
Lucius wielded the Holy Wind Sword against us.
“Is this all it takes for humanity’s hero to give in? Come on, recover your mana quickly. Convert mana into stamina with the Holy Wind Sword.”
“Is this really all it takes to break you? Get your sword up. You still have a long way to go.”
“Haah.”
Lucius gripped his Holy Sword tightly and stood up again.
“Whew!”
He immediately collapsed to the ground.
He sprawled out, continuing to breathe heavily.
“I guess I just can’t go any further.”
“Yeah. Did we push too hard?”
“Haah, haah. Masters.”
Lucius looked at us as if we were monsters.
“Aren’t you clones?”
“And what if we are?”
“Why are clones this strong?”
Although it was a training match, it felt almost like a real battle.
In such a duel, Lucius lost to us both.
Due to the training ground’s durability limits, we hadn’t even used the power of the Spirit Devices, but still, as a Hero, he should have had enough skill and pride not to lose.
He lost.
Lucius was defeated by both of us.
He had never even beaten the real body, but he lost to us, the clones.
“You have indeed grown stronger. However.”
“Just because you’ve gotten stronger doesn’t mean our techniques have disappeared.”
Even on pure martial arts alone, Lucius could never surpass the real body.
The combat techniques honed over hundreds and thousands of years could never be matched by Lucius in his mere ten-month experience as a Hero.
“Lucius, how long have you been a Hero now?”
“…I think it’s been about ten months.”
“Then it’ll be a year soon.”
Ten months.
A long time, yet short.
Lucius had truly given his all and improved his skills.
“Think of it this way. Losing to us is not something to be ashamed of.”
“Exactly. Fighting like this is already impressive. You never know what kind of enemies might appear in the future, but this battle is an experience that will benefit you.”
“Fighting against a strong opponent and losing is not something to be ashamed of. Remember that.”
“You may have lost today, but tomorrow’s you could be different. If you don’t use today’s loss as a stepping stone, then tomorrow’s you will have a 0% chance of winning.”
“So keep striving.”
We returned our Holy Swords to their basic form.
Lucius may be the owner, but of course, it was us who had taught him the activation phrase to become the master.
“Masters.”
Lucius wiped his sweat with the back of his hand.
We approached him with towels to wipe his body, and Lucius continued to pace his breathing with eyes closed.
“…If someone stronger than me were to kidnap you, what should I do?”
“If you can fight and win, then fight. If not, wait for an opportunity.”
“But what if it’s an opponent you can’t defeat?”
“Why are you whining before you’ve even fought?”
Thump thump.
We punched Lucius’s sides from both angles.
“The Witch didn’t train you to be that weak.”
“You plan to rise above your Masters someday, right? Am I wrong?”
“I will rise….”
He grinned.
Could he really be so happy simply at the thought of defeating me?
Lucius’s self-esteem, which had been knocked down by defeat, began to rise again.
“Alright then. If I can defeat the clones, does that mean I can rise above my Masters?”
“Yeah.”
“Sorry, but clones and the real body are different, you know?”
They are clearly different.
“Do you even realize how much mana is drained just to create one clone? Do you know how much mana it takes to create one Marine?”
“…I don’t know.”
It’s a realm of magic.
Lucius once showed a fleeting interest in it, and although I had taught him magic every morning, he has no talent for it.
“Then a question. No matter how urgent the situation, is it better for the clone to explode, or the real body?”
“Of course, the clone.”
“…Saying that right in front of the clone, aren’t you a bit cruel?”
“I’m just stating the facts. Just the facts.”
That much is true.
As Lucius said, if either the real body or clone were to die, it would certainly be better for the clone to blow up.
“So, here’s the next question. The real body wanted the clone to use ‘knowledge’ as a Witch, but never imagined this kind of outcome would happen?”
“I never thought four Holy Swords would come into play like this. If there had been another Holy Sword as a backup, I would have dumped all its mana into the clone.”
“I have a question. My mana—”
“Lucius’s mana is Lucius’s mana.”
“What if at a critical moment, Lucius lost due to mana shortage? What if that was because of the mana used to create the clone?”
The Witch is not a complacent being.
“Regardless of anything else, our top priority is always to ensure you maintain your ‘full power.'”
“And it’s our job to enhance and increase that maximum power.”
A stronger Lucius.
An even stronger Lucius.
And so.
“Are you trying to make me the god of the Intermediate Realm?”
“If that’s what’s needed, then yes.”
“Lucius, this is just hypothetical. It’s not actually going to happen, just a chance.”
We pointed to the sky.
“What if the Moon Goddess was the culprit behind kidnapping the real body? And took the real body to the Celestial Realm?”
“If you had the strength to burst into the Celestial Realm, what would you do?”
“Of course….”
Of course.
Lucius looked shocked and stiffened.
“…Is that really it?”
“That’s how it is.”
“Is the Moon Goddess the culprit?”
“No, no, no. That’s not it. It’s a metaphor, a metaphor. How could the Moon Goddess come to the Intermediate Realm and kidnap the real body?”
“Then the Moon Goddess used someone else to kidnap you. In the name of divine words.”
“If that was the case, Yan or the Pope would have told us.”
“You never know. Maybe the Moon Goddess secretly whispered to the one who kidnapped you under the moonlight.”
“That won’t happen. If that were possible, the Moon Goddess would have descended from the heavens long ago.”
After calming the rampaging Lucius,
“Don’t worry. Just believe in us and keep getting stronger—”
BEEP.
A call was heard from the command room.
Lucius immediately regained his stamina with mana, and we moved to the command room to respond to the call.
[Ah, this is Purple 7. Purple 7. Respond.]
“Confirmed. Green 4 standing by.”
“Mandarin 2 standing by.”
[What? Why Mandarin? Isn’t it Orange?]
With a grumbling voice, Borabel appeared on the screen.
[I’ve checked the path leading into the gorge. I’ve spotted aberrant monsters too. I’ll send the data.]
BEEP.
Several images popped up next to Borabel.
The aberrant monsters captured through the magic tool resembled grotesque masses, as if they had once been human.
“How horrifying. What are those, Undead?”
One mass had human arms and legs grotesquely stuck onto it.
What can I even call that?
It looked like someone had endlessly made human shapes out of clay and then just lumped them together into one.
[Each is presumed to be one human. They are indeed Undead. They just have their souls bound.]
“…That kind of form? What did Liriez say?”
[Liriez’s assessment. Since it’s the Hero’s intuition, it shouldn’t be wrong.]
Borabel’s voice was calm.
[Whether this is the site where the real body was kidnapped or not, we need to investigate. It probably isn’t. I saw Asydia affiliated creatures passing through this area.]
“Really?”
[Yeah. We’ll handle it first, so if anything comes up, I’ll let you know immediately.]
“Purple Master.”
Lucius spoke up with a furious expression.
“It’s fine if the real body isn’t there. Be sure to wipe out whatever is there and punish those terrible beings responsible for this.”
[…Of course. I’m counting on you. If you find the real body, contact me right away, and you all must fly here. Got it?]
“Certainly.”
BEEP.
The connection ended.
Lucius clenched and unclenched his fists while controlling his breathing.
“Now all that’s left is—”
BEEP.
[Ah, this is Blue 5. Respond, Bride Ship.]
“Green 4, confirmed.”
“Orange 2, confirmed.”
[What? Orange? Aren’t you closer to Mandarin?]
“……That’s not important. Why did you call?”
The Blue Bell pointed behind her.
[Over here, it appears to be a bust. I don’t think the real body is near.]
“What’s the basis?”
[This.]
Blue Bell pointed to her chest.
[If the real body were close, it should be thumping here, but there’s no reaction at all. Instead.]
“Instead?”
[I’ve picked up on a large-scale scheme that Asydia was conducting against the east.]
“…So you’re saying the real body isn’t here?”
We both turned our gaze to Lucius.
“What will you do?”
“…….”
Lucius said.
“The Masters have stated. Everything has its order. Everything must be done efficiently.”
Drawing a ring, he grasped the brilliantly shining Golden Holy Sword.
“I will deploy.”