NOVEL NEXT Chapter 234
First strike, certain victory.
I reached out my hand.
Clang!
The attack was blocked.
As I extended my hand, I created a spear of magical power and lunged, but Arpe easily defended against my assault.
“Still the same.”
“What can’t I do to win?”
I pressed on with my attack, pulling mana directly from the magic core to create a silver spear, stabbing and swinging to prevent Arpe from counterattacking.
“Ugh…!”
Arpe frowned and stepped back.
Though she had already drawn her sword, Arpe found it hard to counter my continuous strikes.
“This isn’t the place for that.”
Arpe scanned her surroundings while biting her lower lip.
“Follow me.”
Rustle.
Arpe opened the window and leaped back.
I swung my spear, feeling on edge.
This was the place where Arpe had shared meals with Asydia every day.
It was commendable to think she didn’t want to destroy that place with our battle.
I wasn’t sure if moving to an open area would be advantageous for me—
Thud.
I stepped out through the window frame.
Arpe had already prepared for battle, and before I could land, she swung her sword first.
“I anticipated that!”
I swung my spear wide mid-air to block Arpe’s sword.
Her sword was the Holy Sword Baek Eun Gong, but the spear I wielded was the Oura Sphere created from the mana of Baek Eun Gong.
Not a single tip or shaft would break in direct confrontation.
“Hah.”
I rolled on the ground to create distance and got back into position.
“The view is nice. The sheer cliffs, islands, and the high castle on the hill.”
The blue sky.
Waves crashing against the cliffs.
If I had come as a traveler, it would’ve been truly breathtaking.
“It was the Empire’s villa. Nobody has known for 500 years.”
Arpe leveled her sword at me again.
“And now it’s our honeymoon home together.”
“Who decided that?”
Once more, our swords and spear clashed.
Whether or not the ground got scratched, Arpe unleashed a barrage of attacks that were rougher than before.
“Do you think just defending will lead to victory?”
“Your attacks are completely ineffective!”
“Will yours be effective?”
“Of course!”
I twisted my body and released the mana forming the spear.
In that instant, I reached out my hand towards Arpe’s face as she lunged forward, but she hurriedly turned her head to the side.
Swoosh!
My hand sliced through the air.
Around my hand sparkled silver magical energy like a spear tip.
However.
“Ugh…!”
The attack failed.
I quickly drew up the mana of Baek Eun Gong to form a spear shaft to the side.
Clang—!
A powerful strike with the entire body of the sword.
I was cast into the air, flying several meters away and sliding beyond the cliff’s edge.
“Hah…!”
I thrust the Baek Eun Gong forward, embedding it, then grabbed the end of the spear and spun my body to jump upwards.
And landed.
Fortunately, it seemed Arpe wasn’t chasing after me to overpower me outside the ring, lowering her stance as she let her sword hang by her side.
“Do you think you have a chance?”
“Hah, hah.”
It really was too much.
While I could manage with spear techniques, my body and mana just couldn’t keep up.
“This is dangerous.”
Arpe wiped the wound on her cheek with her hand and licked it.
“Truly, it’s you, Bel. Facing off against the Grand Sword Master with that body of yours. It’s truly impressive, considering you’re just a mere village maiden level.”
“If I’m so impressive, can’t you just put down your sword and surrender?”
“Not a chance. Didn’t you say, Bel, that if an opponent can’t exert their full power in a bad situation, they’re a fool if you let them?”
That’s right.
During the time I was assisting Arpe as a porter, I taught her various ways to not be “a fool.”
“There’s no need to let an opponent weaken them. That’s what you taught me, Bel.”
“Can’t you give a break to the one who taught you?”
“How could I? The moment I do, they’d rush in to take my sword.”
“Tch….”
I was caught.
No, I’d known from the start.
The only means for me to defeat Arpe.
“Baek Eun Gong has a certain consciousness but doesn’t necessarily follow its master. So as long as I don’t let it be taken by force, it will remain mine.”
Arpe wrapped the light she drew from Baek Eun Gong around her wrist.
“If you want to take it, then cut off my arm. That’s how you’d forcefully claim it.”
“Is it really necessary to go that far?”
“Because otherwise, I’d lose.”
Arpe’s eyes were serious.
“I can’t underestimate the world’s strongest warrior.”
“…Hah.”
Creak.
The silver spear I had created started to wane gradually.
The mana that had dwelled in my heart was Baek Eun Gong’s mana, and as the battle began, my mana began to leak out exponentially.
Every time our sword and spear clashed, Baek Eun Gong drained my mana.
To be precise, it was retrieving, absorbing.
“If this goes into a war of attrition, I win. Light is infinite, and I’m the Holy Sword user. If it comes to it, I could ride on the Spirit Device.”
“That makes sense. Thinking about such things definitely puts me at a disadvantage.”
Continuing this pointless battle held no meaning.
As Arpe had said, her mana was infinite, while my mana—my lifespan—was limited.
“Going forward, this pointless battle will repeat forever. You will receive as much mana from me as you need to keep on living, and I will trap you in this castle indefinitely. Until Asydia comes back to life.”
“You don’t care if the outside world is a mess?”
“Correct.”
Arpe’s sword showed no wavering.
“I told you. If I can just meet Asydia again, I don’t care what happens to others. I don’t care if all humans die and the Intermediate Realm becomes the Demon Race’s world. And…”
Clang.
“Even if the outside world is destroyed and only this island remains, if I can revive Asydia, I’d accept that too.”
White tendrils began to sprout from Baek Eun Gong.
“You, me, and Asydia. We will live together forever.”
The vine, like a stem of a white rose with sharp thorns, soon enveloped Arpe’s entire body.
“We will live here together forever. Bel, you will become a true father, and I will carry on life as Asydia’s mother.”
“I have one question. Does Asydia know you’re not her real mother?”
“……Of course not.”
The tip of Arpe’s sword trembled slightly.
I wasn’t sure if she was lying and stirred up her emotions or if I struck a nerve by mentioning she wasn’t Asydia’s real mother.
But.
That didn’t matter.
“Arpe.”
What matters is…
“Our family isn’t the only one that matters, right?”
In the end, one doesn’t live alone in this world.
“I will stop you, Arpe.”
“…I feel the same way. Every time you resist like this, I will suppress you and trap you beneath the castle. When your mana runs out, then I’ll give you more. Forever.”
“No. This ends here.”
Sizzle.
The silver magic spear vanished.
Having exhausted all the mana I received from Baek Eun Gong, only a faint shade of red remained, almost transparent.
“What can you do with the tiny bit of mana you have left?”
“Defeat you.”
What remained for me was a quantity of mana similar to before I was kidnapped by Asydia within the Demon God Bahamut, even less.
“Arpe, I’m about to take the gamble of a lifetime.”
It’s really a gamble.
One that could wipe away everything I’ve built as the Sorceress of Crimson Lotus—a true worst-case scenario.
“If I succeed, I win. If I fail, you lose.”
“…What’s the difference?”
“When I fail, you lose and I could die, too.”
Arpe stared at me with a look of disbelief.
It was only natural.
From her perspective, my next actions would be completely incomprehensible.
“You see, I’ve grown my power by deceiving the world. Deceit is my strength, and lies became the driving force of my life.”
Crack.
I thrust my hand into the hole in my chest.
“If I have to unearth all those lies, I will stop you.”
“……I don’t know what you’ll do, but—”
Calmly, Arpe swung Baek Eun Gong.
“You said not to let an opponent do anything when they try to, that was from you, Bel—”
Clang!
Baek Eun Gong’s strike was stopped by something.
“Although you probably also said they should succeed in doing something if they try. Did you not take my advice seriously?”
The sharp white strike was blocked by a silver shield.
Though my mana was being drained by Arpe, I squeezed out what little mana remained to create a shield based on Baek Eun Gong’s commands.
Screech!
The light shield was sliced in an instant.
But that single moment was enough.
I had already pulled out what I had hidden beside the magic core.
“Hair…?”
“I had saved it for moments like this, a long time ago.”
A single strand of hair I had attached to the magic core.
“You probably forgot? It’s been too long. Hehe.”
A bright, golden strand of hair.
“You, don’t tell me—”
“Come forth!”
Though Arpe tried to extend her sword towards me, I had already grasped the hair tightly and reached up to the sky.
“Lucius—!!”
Crack.
The sky above the island where we fought.
Clink.
With the sound of something breaking, a golden hand tore the sky open.